Maple Legend
by Resda
Summary: Chapter 38: A dark cloud looms ahead, not just for the ship, but for the champions as well.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The sun shone bright, and a warm breeze blew all about the Maple world. In Ellinia, the city of trees, light filtered through the leaves, casting the city in a faint green glow. For the moment, the world was at peace.

But one house in particular felt none of this light and warmth. For in this house, the only light and warmth came from a single crystal ball. Hines, in his treetop abode, stared deeply into it, blocking out all other distractions. Floating in midair, with mystical seals hovering about his body, he was a sight to see.

In a flash, Hines's wizened eyes opened wide. He saw something. Something terrible, requiring his immediate attention. The seals vanished as he drifted to the floor. He began to work.

At the same time, the city of the plains, Henesys, was at peace. In her home, Helena, the city's champion and savior, the mentor to thousands of other archers, nocked her bow, aiming carefully. She released her hand from the bowstring, sending an arrow whizzing through the air.

_Thwip. Ting._

"Perfect shot... almost," she said to herself, picking up the bent meso coin on the floor. A large dent was visible, a few degrees from the coin's center. "I need more practice." She nocked another arrow.

A brilliant light suddenly filled the room. The form of an old wizard materialized in front of Helena. In her surprise, she lost her grip on the string, sending the arrow flying. "Hines! Look out!"

The arrow flew straight through him, impacting the wall behind him. Fortunately, he was unharmed. His form shimmered for a split second. "This is why I never see you in person," Hines said, a small smirk crossing his face.

"Thank the gods for that, I suppose." Helena put away her weapons. "What brings you here to see me?" Hines's face quickly became serious. Without a single word, Helena understood. Her face fell. "It's far too soon!"

"Regardless, it is time."

"But my successor is only a child! He has not even attained the second job yet!" Helena pleaded with him.

"It is out of our hands, Helena," Hines sighed. "I cannot change what I see in my crystal. We must act quickly if we are to save the world."

"The others... Dark Lord and Sitting Bull... they know as well?" Helena resigned to saying, defeated.

"I informed them as soon as I knew." Hines reached into a pouch on his belt, pulling out a small maple leaf charm. It had a crimson glint in the sunlight. "Give this to him. The champions will stand united by this symbol."

"I guess there is no turning back," Helena said, eyes watering. "I will go look for him."

"No need, my dear. He's at your door." Hines replied. With another flash, he was gone. Knock, knock. Helena turned towards the noise.

"Hello, Helena? Are you home? It's me, Resda! I think I'm ready to get that second job!"


	2. The First Step

**The First Step  
**

Helena took a cleansing breath. _Here goes..._ She opened the door. A young man greeted her. His dark brown hair and eyes were accented by his choice of Dark Hunter's armor, green Diros, and green snowshoes. _He looks rather dashing. I approve,_ Helena thought.

"Hello, Helena! It's so great to see you again!" Resda grinned.

Despite the events preceding Resda's return, Helena couldn't help but crack a smile. "Resda! Welcome back to Henesys." Her eyes narrowed; she stared at him intently and paced around him, as if searching for some minute detail on his person. "Hmmm... you have grown a lot since I last saw you. I don't see the fledgling student I saw before. You have truly earned the title of bowman."

"Thank you. It's so great to hear that."

"No need to be so polite, Resda!" Helena said, looking at him critically. "We both know what you want."

"I'm sorry, Helena," Resda began. He put his hands behind his head. "It's just that I've been looking forward to the job advance. You said yourself that I have a big future waiting for me, right?"

"Yes... about that..." Helena said. She had hoped to put off the moment for as long as possible, but-

"Then let's get going! Come on!" Resda said, pressing them forward. He drew his crossbow and mock aimed at Helena. The crossbow was elegantly designed; a silver handle widened out to a well-constructed stock shaped of the strongest steel. The golden prod was designed for one purpose and one alone - to fire bolts with the greatest power and accuracy possible. Its purpose was clear, and no one would want to be at the business end of this crossbow.

"Ah. My Arbalest," Helena said, reminiscing. She and Vicious had designed it together; only the best materials and craftsmen were invested in it. "I'm glad you still have it."

"It's the finest crossbow I've ever used." Resda said.

"I'm glad. I never told you, but..." Helena said with a little sigh, "That crossbow will be important to you later."

_I'll figure out what that means later,_ Resda thought to himself. "Uh... about that second job advance... I could use the new skills. So, if you don't mind..."

"Yes, of course." Helena walked over to her desk and began writing a note. "Take... this... letter... to Laine," she said, as she signed her name with a flourish. "She's the second job instructor. She'll know what to do."

"That's great and all, but where am I supposed to go?" Resda asked.

"Huh? You don't know?" Helena said.

"Well, this is usually the part where you tell me where I'm supposed to go. Basic Side Quest rule number one," Resda added as a joke.

"Oh, come on now," Helena said. "Alright. You should be able to find her as you make your way from here to Sleepywood.

Resda thought back to his dungeon crawling adventures. He remembered a petite woman with bright pink hair, clad in blue. She stood around in a clearing, not even flinching as Green Slimes brushed by her to attack the passersby. Resda had passed her off as simply another weirdo, so this new information seemed a little odd to him. "Her? She doesn't seem like the wise old instructor type to me. At least you..."

"Oh?" Helena raised her eyebrows.

Resda realized he had painted himself into a corner. "Um... you're definitely wise..."

Helena smirked again. "Whatever, Resda." She became serious as she said her next words. "Once you've finished with her, return here. There is something that we need to discuss."

"What? Why not tell me now?" Resda had a confused look on his face.

"It's... just... just do it, okay? It's important, and it has to be done this way." Helena turned around, as tears began to well up and run down her face. _If only he knew what he was bound to do...,_ she thought, _the sacrifices he would make..._

Resda dropped his joking attitude. "Helena, are you alright? You've been acting odd." He reached out a hand to touch her shoulder. Helena swat it away.

"It's nothing. Go now, and I'll see you after you've talked with Laine." Helena remained with her back turned to her apprentice.

"If you're sure you're alright... I'll see you in a few." Resda slowly walked out the door, his eyes on his teacher. The door creaked slowly as he left. _What the heck is going on? What does she know that I don't? And, do I want to know?_


	3. The Vision

**The Vision  
**

In the city of the clouds, Orbis, an airship landed at the dock. As people got off, one in particular stood out. Lydia, the ice mage, stared in awe at the glorious land around her. The sights were above and beyond the stories she had heard from her more traveled friends. The high winds blew through her auburn hair, tied in pigtails with green ribbons. Her dark eyes squinted as the sun shone directly on the tall buildings. Proceeding through the ornate main city, she noticed the monolithic Orbis Tower. She immediately walked after this building, to explore its amazing structure.

"Amazing," she thought aloud as she walked through the courtyard. Many statues of winged females greeted her, looking as if they were in prayer, all seeming to worship the center statue, of a woman standing upright, adorned with a flowing dress and wings of both angelic and demonic nature. All were elegantly carved, and looked as if they could spring to life at any moment.

She headed for the entrance, when another statue caught her eye. This one was different from the rest. Her wings were not feathered like her companions, but instead took their shape from bat wings. Lydia's thoughts centered completely on this statue. "What is it?" she asked, almost expecting an answer.

The statue seemed to radiate an invisible energy that continued to draw her in. Lydia stepped closer and closer, going around to the statue's front. A stony face, eyes closed, features sharp, greeted her. Still the statue beckoned her forward. Lydia's very being was focused on this statue, and still it drew her closer. She reached out and stroked the statue's cheek. "What am I doing?" she asked herself, as her body seemed to act on its own accord. "What is so special about this statue?" Deep in her mind, Lydia willed for something, anything, to happen, something to take her away from this disturbingly eye-catching statue.

She got her wish. The statue's eyes flew wide open, and a blinding light erupted from it. Temporarily sightless, Lydia stumbled to the floor. When she regained her sight, she immediately looked for the statue again. But to her complete surprise, the pedestal was empty. _Perhaps,_ she thought, _the statue moved? That is possible, right?_ Suddenly, she knew the answer. She stared in horror.

A woman stepped out from behind the tall pedestal. She ran a hand through her silver, cropped hair, and felt her back. "No wings..." she said simply.

"You're..." Lydia said, going catatonic with awe.

"Yes, I am." She smiled, a soft smile that did not extend to her cold, hard, crimson eyes. She spoke in a smooth, silky voice to Lydia. "I must thank you... for releasing me." Her smile widened, looking much less elegant. "That prison was unbearable."

Lydia was taken aback. "W-who are you? And what do you mean... prison?" Her palms dripped with sweat, and her body trembled with fear.

"My name is Deianira," she answered, "but that is not your concern. All you need to know is that now that I am free, my master's work can begin again. The world..." she smiled again, "will be ours."

"What? What are you talking about? What are you going to do?"

"That again is none of your concern. Now step aside, and let me go about my business." Deianira took a step towards Lydia.

While she still was shaking in terror, Lydia worked up the courage to draw her staff. "N-no. No! I won't let you pass!"

"Such spirit!" Deianira flippantly brushed her hair out of her face. She raised an arm, procuring a staff from midair. A beastly skull adorned the top of the staff. She grasped it. "I was going to let you alone. But such defiance must be dealt with."

Lydia saw her smile again. She found her courage. "Oh, yeah? I'm going to enjoy taking you down!" With a wave of her staff, she chilled the air around her. "**Cold Beam!**" Ice shards flew towards Deianira. Lydia watched the ice missiles hit their mark, but her face fell as they seemed to disintegrate into nothingness.

"Child, do you know who you're dealing with?" Deianira said, smiling again.

"No, and I don't care! **Thunder Bolt!**" she incanted, but the lightning was deflected away as if it were nothing. "What are you?" she murmured.

"Hmm? I'm just a wizard, like yourself. But my powers do not draw from the same source that you and that foolish old man Hines use." She waved her staff. Red energy surrounded Lydia, lifting her up into the air as she screamed in terror and anguish. "You seem to enjoy these statues so much, child. Maybe you should join them."

Lydia shrieked. Feathered wings magically erupted from her back, flapping madly before turning into solid stone. She twisted around in the air, struggling against the energy holding her there. She watched in horror as her hands suddenly relaxed and turned into smooth stone. "My body! Someone help me, please!" Unable to move herself, she felt like a spectator as Deianira telekinetically posed Lydia's body so it looked like the statues nearby. The stone effect tingled as it transformed her feet and proceeded through her arms and legs.

"No one has seen you, my dear," Deianira said coldly. "You are all alone. But soon you will have a new set of companions."

The transformation continued. Her torso slowly changed into solid marble. Lydia felt her breathing and heartbeat stop. Her robes transformed next, into the same simple toga that the other statues wore. The ribbons in her hair were stripped away, and her hair fell to shoulder length, blowing in the breeze before magically turning to stone. The effect proceeded up her neck, until only her face remained. Lydia was lowered onto the pedestal, gasping for words before the effect spread across her nose and mouth, turning them into unmoving stone.

"And, the final touch," Deianira said. She stepped over to her, gently shutting Lydia's terror-filled eyes as they plead for mercy. Finally, the petrifying magic spread to her eyes, turning them into cold stone. What was once a bright young sorceress was now a kneeling statue. "Thank you, child," Deianira said to Lydia, even when she could no longer hear her. She caressed Lydia's lovely stone face. "Now, I have other matters to attend to. I must release my companions and the master. Thanks to you, child, our plans will finally come to pass!" She snapped her head back, laughing coldly, before disappearing in a wisp of darkness.

In a flash, Hines's wizened eyes opened wide. He saw something. Something terrible, requiring his immediate attention. The seals vanished as he drifted to the floor. He began to work.


	4. Destiny Revealed

**Destiny Revealed  
**

Resda brushed aside a few branches. The forest path from Henesys to Sleepywood was overgrown lately, in his opinion. But that concerned him little as he moved forward. His thoughts were mixes of excitement about going to take the second job test and confusion from Helena's reaction to him. He removed Helena's letter to Laine from his bag, and eyed it carefully. _What could be wrong with her?_ Resda thought. _I mean, it's not a rare thing for someone to ask her for the job advance... Was it something I did?_

His train of thought was interrupted by a dull pain in his right leg. He looked down to find Slime residue on his right pants leg, and a small monster jiggling with anger. "Well, at least I'm headed the right way," Resda thought as he pierced the slime with an arrow, dispatching it instantly. "I wonder where Laine is..."

As if to answer his query, a woman with shocking pink hair stepped out from behind a tree. "Hm! Who might you be, that would risk life and limb to enter my space?"

"Hello, Laine. I'm here to get the second job," Resda replied. He pulled out Helena's letter and handed it to her.

She tore it open nonchalantly. "I supposed so. No one ever talks to me about anything else... It's always, 'Laine, I want the second job!' 'Laine, Helena sent me to waste your time again!' Over and over..." She read the letter, but stopped. She read it again. "Could this be..." she muttered to herself.

Resda, who was overeager by this time, waited for her to finish her instructions. "I'm supposed to collect thirty Dark Marbles, right? My friend Miyazuki told me about what I was supposed to do." He looked intently at Laine, who didn't bother to look back, focused entirely on the letter.

Laine cracked a smile. "About time she selected someone! Especially with the time being so near..." She looked up at Resda critically, then down at the paper. "She could have picked someone more fitting the image, though..."

Resda was annoyed. He wasn't sure if Laine was insulting him or not. Furthermore, she seemed to have the same concern that Helena did earlier. "What on earth are you talking about?"

Laine looked up at him again, this time in amazement. "You mean to say she hasn't told you anything?"

"About what?"

"Well, you're the chosen hero. You're responsible for the fate of the world! Come on, she didn't mention a thing about it?"

Resda only stared at her, dumbfounded.

"I ought to smack her a good one for this... Ugh, Helena, you should have told him sooner... Revealing his destiny is your job," Laine contemplated aloud. She then addressed Resda. "Well, you're going to save the entire world. You're the champion!"

Resda's jaw dropped. "Me? Champion?"

"Well, one of four, really. But still."

"But... I'm just an ordinary guy! Surely I can't save the world..."

Laine smiled. "How typical of you heroes. Always rejecting the call to adventure. Well then, you want to test that theory?"

Resda looked at her, puzzled. "What about my job advance? That's all I'm here for."

"This is your test then," Laine shot back. "You'll come with me on a dangerous quest, one that will prove your mettle. We're going to gather the Black Orb."

Resda simply stood there, eyes wide, completely in wonder.


	5. Start of a Legend

**Start of a Legend  
**

Laine paced around impatiently, waiting for Resda to snap out of his stupor. _Geez, all I did was tell him that he was a legendary hero,_ she thought. _Why does this have to get so complicated?_

"Buh... whuh..." Resda mumbled.

"Hmph. That's the first noise you've made in the last ten minutes," Laine said critically. Resda, still stunned, did not reply. After all, it was a lot of news to take in. He probably would have stood there a few more minutes had Laine not taken action. "Well, here goes." A passing Slime suddenly found itself hurtling through the air, towards Resda's face. It slammed against him hard, covering him in slime.

"AAH! What was that for? This stuff stains!" Resda fumed, wiping the green goop from his face.

"At least you're forming sentences now," Laine shot back. "Let's get started with your quest, before we get any older."

"Fine... But Helena has a lot to explain when we get back..." Resda thought aloud. "Which way do we go?"

"Getting there isn't a problem, Resda." Laine grinned as she pulled a small charm from her pocket. It glowed for a second, and Laine threw it a few feet away. A portal opened at that spot with a burst of wind and light. "We'll just be stepping through here." She walked towards the portal, but stopped short of entering it. "Coming?"

Resda gathered his courage. "Let's go." He stepped through the portal. Blinded by the light, he shut his eyes tightly. When he opened them again, he thought he really was blind, until his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the new area. "Where are we? Is this the Ant Tunnel?"

"Hmm. I take out a special pendant, it creates a portal. You really expect it to lead to the Ant Tunnel?" Laine rolled her eyes. "This is a special area that only a select few have laid eyes upon. The Black Orb resides here."

"What is this Black Orb exactly? What do I do with it? And where will I find it?"

"Well, the Black Orb is a manifestation of pure darkness. With it, a man could cover the entire universe in a black shroud, rendering everyone blind. That's why you've got to get it and destroy it first," Laine said. She walked further into the dark tunnel, Resda at her heels.

"Why can't you do it? Obviously you've seen it before," Resda inquired as they trekked on through the rocky soil of the tunnel. "You could easily destroy it yourself, right?"

"It's not that simple. I couldn't do it alone, even if I tried. My power alone is not enough." Laine tried to lighten the mood. "Besides, what better way to prove the hero's worth than with a dangerous quest, right?" Laine went to speak again, but stopped, noticing a large tower a few yards away downhill. Her eyes narrowed. "There it is. We've got to get in there to find the Orb." The pair drew closer to the tower, the light around them growing dimmer with each step.

Suddenly, an arrow landed with a thud at Resda's feet. "Huh? Who's firing?" He turned to Laine, whose eyes were fixated on the dark sky. "What are you-"

"Run," Laine simply stated. "Now."

Resda looked up to see a rain of arrows coming down towards them. "Oh gods." He bolted uphill, trying to get out of range. The arrows descended upon him, but just as they were about to hit, Laine pulled him away, into safety. From their shelter, the two regrouped. "Who the heck was that?" Resda asked, breathing heavily. "They must have at least a hundred archers up there, trying to stop-"

"Wrong. It's just one."

"One man firing that many arrows? Impossible!"

"It's not a man, it's a demon. The Demon Archer." Laine leaned closer and spoke quietly, as if the very air around them was eavesdropping. "Once, he too was another archer, as skilled as yourself. He wanted to prove it... so I took him here." She shuddered at the memory. "We reached the center room, and tried to destroy the Orb... but we failed. Arrows could not pierce it. So... he reached out and tried to take it, to smash it down to the floor. He was immediately consumed by darkness, blinded by his impatience. He was transformed, and I was forced to leave him." A tear fell from her cheek.

Resda knew when not to pursue a topic any longer. He brought the conversation back to something a little less emotional. "You say the Demon is blind. How, then, is he able to attack us?"

"His instincts have been sharpened to superhuman levels. Those instincts - the instincts of an archer - are the ones he is using to attack us."

"Then how can we hope to defeat him?"

"You have to think as he does. You too need to develop those same instinctive abilities." Laine stood up and cast her eyes toward the dark tower. "This is the skill you need to become the hero you're meant to be."

"Laine..." Resda stood up and joined her. "I think I understand what you're saying. But, I need you to show me how."

"Alright, Resda," Laine said. "Luckily, I brought this, just for such an occasion." As she spoke, she pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket, twisted it, and blindfolded Resda. "Your legend begins now. I hope you are ready."


	6. Entertaining Darker Designs

**Entertaining Darker Designs  
**

Some time ago, in the ruins not far from Sleepywood, the dark mage Deianira was entertaining her own designs. A circle of runes appeared in front of Deianira as she meditated. Nearby, a painted symbol on one of the crumbling walls pulsated with energy. With each pulsation, a small tremor shook the area. But Deianira was not concerned with such things. _Hines... you had the gall to spy on me,_ she thought, _I believe I should return the favor._

Inside the circle was an image of Kerning City, the city of swamps - although few knew it by that name anymore. The view quickly shifted to the interior of one of its many buildings. The legendary hermit, Dark Lord, was continuing his extensive training regimen. All of a sudden, a brilliant flash filled the room, and Hines's form appeared in the center of the room. Dark Lord continued training. "Hines. I had not expected you."

"Shuo, you know why I have arrived today." Hines stated plainly.

Dark Lord stopped. He leapt from his perch, where he had been suspending himself by his legs and doing curl ups, and stared straight at Hines with fire-filled eyes. "I have told you before, old man," he snarled, "and I will tell you only one more time. Never call me by that name." He turned back around to sit at his desk. "It is from an old life, one I abandoned many moons ago."

"As you wish, old friend," Hines said, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "But it is as I said before... you cannot face your future without accepting your past."

"That isn't why you came," Dark Lord snapped.

Hines sighed. "I merely wanted to make sure things were ready. Your champion-"

"I will not put blind faith in some prophecy, Hines." Dark Lord turned his chair around. "My champion is not your concern. He will make his own destiny."

"Shuo, please don't look at this lightly!" Hines insisted.

"You used that name again," he said, not turning around. "Leave. There is nothing more to discuss with you." Hines opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. He left noiselessly. _That prophecy... he puts too much stock in it, _Dark Lord thought as Hines left. _This world operates on its own, not by the predictions of others. The champions can decide their own fates._

The vision next led to Perion, inside the home of the legendary warrior Sitting Bull. Sitting Bull himself sat in the center of the room, in deep meditation. Hines appeared next to him, breaking his concentration. Sitting Bull smiled. "Hines! How wonderful it is to see you again, my old friend. Even it it isn't in person," Sitting Bull added. "Your appearance has brought a little interest to this boring day."

"I'm glad." Hines said. "I... only wish we could have met in a less dire situation."

"I assume, then, that it is time."

"Yes," Hines replied sadly.

"My champion has been training for this. He has shown me his ability, and I think he is able to accept his destiny."

"This is good news," Hines said.

"What of Dark Lord? And Helena?"

"I'm off to see her next. As for Dark Lord," Hines suddenly smiled, "I didn't get a straight answer."

"Typical Shuo," Sitting Bull reminisced. "We never could get anything out of him. That is, unless we got a pretty girl to talk for us," he snickered.

"Ah, those were the days."

"Memories like this... they will be quite the comfort in the times to come," Sitting Bull said wearily. "I will keep them in mind always."

"Wise as usual," Hines said. "I am off. Farewell." He vanished with a bright flash, off to see Helena.

"Goodbye, Hines."

Deianira heard a loud crash, breaking her concentration. "Ah well," she said to herself as the vision cleared.

The symbol on the wall vanished, and a giant sword crashed through, turning the wall to rubble. A tall, armored figure stepped through the newly created door. A male voice rang out from within the armor. "Deianira. You look exquisite today." He removed his helmet in respect, revealing himself to be an empty suit of armor, filled only with shadows. He replaced the helmet on his head.

"Ozeku, welcome back to the mortal coil," Deianira replied. "We will soon have freed the others, and then, we will proceed as planned."

"The master will soon have control over the entire universe."

"Yes..." Deianira added, with relish.

"But, what of the four champions?" Ozeku questioned.

"What of them?" Deianira echoed. Her gaze turned to the vision circle once more. She saw four young adventurers, each of them heading in different directions. Deianira smiled. "I doubt even they will be able to stop us."

"But the prophecy..." Ozeku insisted.

"For a giant hulking superpower, you sure can sound like a sniveling coward sometimes," Deianira sneered. "Fine. I will send my minions after them." She raised her staff to the sky. "Come, shadows!" As she spoke, four creatures of darkness rose up out of the ground. They stood still in front of their mistress. "Go forth, and seek the champions. When you find them, destroy them." The four nodded in assent and vanished as mysteriously as they appeared. Deianira and Ozeku exchanged a knowing glance. "These four should ensure the destruction of the champions. Then, no prophecy can stop us."


	7. Piercing Light

**Piercing Light  
**

Resda and Laine stood opposite each other in an open field, neither one moving. The wind brushed against the grass and faintly whistled in their ears.

With a start, Laine fired three arrows in quick succession. Resda, unable to see the arrows, tried to listen for them.

_One. Left shoulder._ Resda dodged the arrow by leaping to the right.

_Two. Straight on._ Resda turned in the air, the arrow whizzing past.

_Three... can I do this? What if I can't do this?_ Resda panicked, and the arrow hit its mark.

_Damn._ Resda fell to the floor. He got up slowly, and pulled off his blindfold in frustration. He checked his arm. The sleeve was torn. _And I liked this armor too._

"You aren't getting it," Laine said. "The first step is to clear your mind of all distractions. Worry not about the trouble in the world. Your focus is on the battle, and on your opponent. Nothing more."

Resda remained silent.

"Are you ready to continue?"

"Fine," Resda said, putting on the blindfold.

Laine nocked her bow again, holding three arrows. She let them fly.

_One to the left._ Resda moved right.

_Another aimed at my feet._ Resda jumped up.

Okay, good start. _The third one... where is it?_ Unable to locate it, the arrow managed to hit once again, this time glancing off of Resda's armor. "Son of a bitch! I'm focusing so hard that my head is going to explode!"

"You still don't have it right. To focus on your opponent, you have to see as they do. Your presence must be in every part of the battle - attacker, defender, and the attack itself."

"You're asking for something nearly impossible!" Resda said, replacing the blindfold. "But... I guess I'll try it anyway."

"That's the spirit!" Laine replied, before nocking her bow once again.

_Come on, concentrate, Resda,_ he mentally asked himself. _You can do this, man._ He took a deep breath, and attempted to block everything from his mind. He forgot about his lack of sight, instead sensing the world through his other senses. As he concentrated further, his perception sharpened. And suddenly, he saw. He could see everything, even without sight. He smiled, and shifted his weight, hearing the grass crumple beneath his feet.

_He got it,_ Laine thought silently. She too grinned, as she fired several shots.

Without thinking, Resda dodged around every single one. Leaning to his left, he dodged two arrows. He leapt into the air to dodge another pair of shots. As he was about to land, he allowed himself to land prone, ducking right underneath a fifth arrow. As the last three came, he stood firm, drawing his crossbow. One by one, he swatted them from the sky. Soon after, Resda snapped back into reality. _Did I do it?_ he asked himself. Tearing off his blindfold, he saw Laine inches from his face, grinning madly.

"That was amazing! Much more than I expected you to do on the first try!" She hugged him, nearly crushing him to death. "Helena definitely knew what she was doing when she chose you!"

Resda said nothing.

"Aah!" Laine released Resda from her death grip hug. "I'm sorry if I hurt you there, it was just so amazing!"

"That's not it," Resda said, turning her around to face the tower.

A pillar of darkness had erupted from the tower, clearly visible even in the dark sky. Wind started to blow, whipping the two archers in the face. Laine's face became solemn. "Let's go. We have to stop this." Resda nodded in assent as they approached the tower. As they drew nearer to the entrance, waves of arrows cascaded towards them, just as before. This time, though, Resda and Laine were ready. Laine effortlessly weaved through the arrows, as if it was choreographed. With his newly acquired skill, Resda did the same, opting to bat away some of the arrows instead of dodging around them.

Eventually, they reached the entrance to the tower. In the center of the room, on an ornate pedestal, lay the Black Orb. At least, that's what they could see. For from the Orb irradiated an inky blackness, which left light enough just to barely make out the Orb itself, the pedestal, and the dilapidated pillars circling the perimeter of the room.

Resda pulled a bolt from his quiver, loading it. He fired at the Orb, but it bounced off with a hollow noise. "Hey, Laine," Resda said, feigning humor, "You were right about that whole 'can't break it with arrows' thing."

Laine sniffed. "Of course I'm right," she replied. A sudden noise startled her. "Now get down. He's coming."

The two of them scrambled around the room, searching for an adequate hiding place. They crouched down across from each other, hiding behind pillars. At that very moment, the Demon Archer walked in. His hulking form filled the doorway. He was less of a man and more like a lycanthrope in his appearance. His ears twitched as he strained to listen for possible intruders. As he walked, his footsteps crunched on the gravel-covered floor. He paid no mind to the rats scurrying about.

Resda, unfortunately, did. _Rats!_ was the only thought in his head. He squirmed away. The rustling of his clothing caused the Demon Archer to turn towards him, growling.

"Damn! You blew it!" Laine blurted out, before clapping a hand to her mouth. The beast immediately leapt over, smashing the pillar she hid behind. Laine picked up her bow and made a break for it.

"You should talk," Resda said, causing the Archer to turn and swipe at him. Resda ducked underneath.

Laine shot a glare at Resda as she shot an arrow at the Demon. It got out of the way effortlessly, flowing directly into an attacking pose.

"Ooh, he's good," Resda said.

The Demon, which by now had a good idea that there were intruders standing in front of him, quickly fired a volley of arrows at them. Resda and Laine danced around them avoiding them easily, but the attacks kept coming. After what seemed like an eternity, there was a lull in combat as the Demon recast his Soul Arrow. "That's it! Attack now!" Laine cried out, as they proceeded to attack. Laine fired as many cover shots as he could while Resda followed up with Double Shots one after another.

The Demon, however, went around every single shot, as if it was ethereal. Soon it was back on the attack, and Resda and Laine resumed their dance. Resda and Laine were so tired they were moving their bodies solely by force of will. The Demon Archer, however, showed no traces of fatigue.

"I can't keep this up," Resda panted, as the Demon kept firing. He called out to Laine, who was off to the side, but still dealing with the Demon's impossibly fast attack.

Suddenly, Laine screamed. She slipped on a patch of gravel, bringing herself to her knees. The Demon immediately fired a single shot. Laine twisted her body around to try to get out of the way, but the arrow managed to graze her leg, leaving a bloody streak. With Laine unable to move, the Demon lunged forward. Red energy erupted from his bow as he slammed into her with it. Laine skidded violently across the floor, slamming hard into the wall. She tried to sit up, but eventually her will gave out and she lay sprawled out in the corner of the room. The Demon aimed a single shot - the killing blow.

Without a thought, Resda leapt in between them just as the Demon fired. He deflected the arrow off into the rafters. For once, the Demon was caught by surprise. "And now you're finished!" he yelled at the monster, aiming for the beast's chest and firing before he could make a move. The arrow, to everyone's amazement, began to glow, streaking through the air extremely quickly. It pierced through the Demon's chest and struck the Orb behind him. Upon impact, the Orb slowly cracked, then shattered, and an explosion filled the room with blinding white light.

Moments later, the light faded. But it remained; the room for the first time was illuminated, a column of light coming down through the dusty air. Resda squinted - it was the first real light he had seen in what seemed like forever. His eyes finally adjusted, and he ran to Laine, who was only beginning to move after the combined force of the Demon's last strike and the explosion that followed.

"What did I tell you?" Laine said weakly.

Resda helped her slowly to her feet. "But what was it?" he asked.

"Beats me," she replied. "It's not something I'm familiar with." Laine tested her wounded leg, stepping gingerly. A look of concern crossed Resda's face. "I'm alright. I can walk on my own," she insisted. "We should get back, let Helena know what happened."

"Right," Resda said, a hint of bitterness in his voice. Hearing Helena's name reminded him that she was supposed to have told him about his destiny. This feeling vanished a few moments later, when a groan reached their ears. They turned back to the center of the room, towards where the Demon had fallen.

In his place lay a smaller body. The stranger, dressed in a black cloak, picked himself up from the ground slowly. "Ungh..." he said, "What happened?" Resda walked over to steady him as he got to his feet, but he pushed him back. "I've got it." He stared at Resda. "Now, who the heck are you?"

"Hawk?" Laine said in wonderment, before Resda could get in a word. "You're alive?"

"Laine?" Hawk said, equally amazed. "What happened? Why is the room so bright? What happened to the Orb?"

"You don't remember anything..." Laine thought aloud.

"Remember what? After I touched the Orb, I suddenly woke up on the floor."

"Hawk... you've been gone for four years," Laine said, Hawk's eyes wide. "After you touched the Orb... a beast named the Demon Archer appeared in an eruption of energy. The shockwave from the blast knocked me out of the tower, and I was unable to return to for you. I naturally assumed the worst."

"Four years..." Hawk repeated, trying to grasp it.

"Yes," Laine reiterated. "Resda and I returned finally to finish what we started."

"So this Demon... you killed him?" Hawk asked. "And what about the Orb?"

"I think you missed the point," Resda began.

"What?" Hawk thought. "Wait... a four year lapse of memory, waking up in pain... are you saying that..." Resda nodded, solemnly. "Then I must have tried to..." Hawk choked on the words.

"You almost did," Laine replied.

"Wh... what about the Orb?" Hawk said, in a calm voice.

"Resda destroyed it," Laine said simply. "With the same shot that defeated you."

"What?" Hawk said again. "But that's impossible!"

"What? Because the Orb was unbreakable?" Resda asked. "Yeah, that was wrong."

"NO!" Hawk yelled in frustration. "You shouldn't have done it! I should have!"

Resda was taken aback. "What gives you that idea?"

"I'm the champion, that's what!" Hawk barked. "It's my responsibility!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Resda said. "I'm the champion."

"Laine!" Hawk said. "Tell this joker he's mistaken!" Laine looked down at the floor. "Come on!"

"I'm sorry, Hawk," Laine intoned sadly. "Look, it's my fault you got into this. I assumed too much." Before Hawk could complain, Laine continued. "I was wrong to think that you were the champion; it was just taking so long for Helena to make a decision that I felt I needed to take matters into my own hands."

"So, what?" Hawk spat, "I'm a mistake? I just get pushed aside while this loser comes out of nowhere to claim what is mine?"

"Now wait just a second!" Resda argued.

"I challenge you, here and now, Resda."

"No," he replied emphatically. "There are other, more pressing concerns right now." At that moment, Laine's leg gave out again, and Resda rushed over to help.

Hawk calmed down slightly. "Hmph. We'd better get back to Henesys then."

"Right," Resda agreed. He extended a friendly hand. Hawk didn't take it.

"But, when we get Laine to Helena's place, I'm out. I'll prove to you, Resda, that I'm the only champion around here."

"Do what you want," Resda replied. He turned to Laine. "Laine, if you could..."

"Of course." She pulled another charm from her pocket. "We'd better just warp directly to Helena's house." She handed the charm to Resda. He tossed it at the floor, and the three entered the portal.

Just as these events transpired, a lone figure stood atop the scaffolding in busy Kerning City, facing the orange light of the setting sun. His dark disheveled hair blew in the wind. Raising his weapon, a uniquely colored Gephart with an ancient inscription on its blades, he thought to himself. _The Nazo,_ he thought, _such a unique weapon. And such a unique purpose to it, as well._ He lowered his weapon, grasping it tightly in his left hand. _I still don't know what I have to do. But this I vow: I, Twilight Sea, will not fail. And any who stand before me will feel my blade._ After standing in silence for a moment, he retrieved a scroll from his bag. He opened and read it as a rushing wind surrounded him, whisking him away to his next destination.


	8. The Attack

**The Attack  
**

Twilight re-appeared in Perion. _I need to clear my head. Get all of this straightened out,_ he figured. _And I know just who to talk to_. Twilight began ascending the rocky path towards where a lone figure stood at a cliff face. Upon his arrival, a voice immediately greeted him from several feet away. "Don't talk to me," Manji spoke in a low, cold voice.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Manji," Twilight replied.

"Oh, it's you. Hello again, Twilight." Manji's voice lightened, if only slightly. "Sophia tells me relic hunting's been rather slow. Where've you been?"

"I've been around. Not really doing much, I guess."

"Anything wrong?"

"Nah..." Twilight immediately responded. "Just a little distracted, is all. It's not a really big deal... although..."

Manji cut him off. "Are you in any kind of trouble? Because lately I've felt a few bad vibrations."

"No, it's nothing like that. Manji, you know a lot about ancient legends, right?"

"Only what I pick up from people around me and read for myself, which is quite a bit, I guess. I have a lot of free time to do that kind of stuff. Why?"

Twilight held up his Nazo. "Well, what can you tell me about this?"

Manji turned and walked over to Twilight. He took the Nazo from his hands and examined it closely. He noted the longer blades and faded inscriptions. "Don't tell me," Manji said, after several minutes, "you're the champion of Kerning City."

"Yeah, that's it," Twilight replied.

"It's a good thing too. The last four champions were taking their bloody time selecting their successors."

"Well then, what have you got to tell me?"

"Not much, really. If anyone can tell you anything, it should be Dark Lord."

Twilight sniffed. "Hmph. He's of no help. Doesn't want to talk about it at all."

"Well then, try Sitting Bull or Hines. Perhaps Helena, even."

"That's the last thing I need... another damn mentor. I just want to know which way to go. The rest I will handle myself."

Manji chuckled a little bit, saying, "How typical of you. A loner to the last, even when you worked with me and Sophia collecting treasure. How odd that you of all people have to work with three others to save this world." He threw the Nazo back to Twilight and walked back to his original place, where his knapsack lay in the dust. "Well, I hope you can change your attitudes somewhat before you meet your companions." He reached down and opened his bag. "I guess I'll tell you what I know." He reached for his bag, but suddenly he paused. "Something's coming." Manji abruptly put his hand to his sword.

Twilight rushed over. "Is something the matter?" he was about to ask, but before he could get in a word, a flash of light caused a female figure to shimmer into view. Straight, black hair framed her face, and her green eyes met Twilight's in a cold stare. She wore a simple blue Amoria, and carried a wooden staff.

"Do you need something?" Twilight asked, obviously annoyed that this stranger would appear and interrupt. He stepped forward deliberately. The female mage did not flinch. Instead, she continued staring him down, without a word. "Well?" Twilight pressed on, his rage building.

Manji, who was a few steps away from the scene, called out a warning. "Be careful, Twilight. Something's amiss here." The woman breathed in deeply, and her eyes glowed a faint green as she held up her staff. Twilight stood, unimpressed by her little display. Manji's eyes widened.

The woman opened her mouth, and muttered two words. "**Poison Breath.**" Suddenly, she exhaled on her staff, and then pointed it at Twilight. It flashed bright green for a split second.

"Twilight, move!" Manji yelled. But Twilight was caught by surprise. A green mist instantaneously erupted from the magic staff, taking the shape of a bubble. Manji leapt in, body checking Twilight to push him out of the way of the speeding venomous projectile.

"Manji! What-" Twilight started, but in another instant he knew why Manji had shoved him aside. The orb struck Manji in his face, filling his nose and mouth with the poisonous mist. Manji collapsed on the ground as Twilight rushed to him. "You! Why have you done this?" he yelled at the strange attacker, preparing himself for battle.

The woman calmly replied. "Well, he should not have gotten in the way. Now he will die instead of you." In a fit of rage, Twilight slashed at her. But she quickly disappeared and reappeared several feet away. "I guess I will have to handle this the old fashioned way. **Fire Arrow.**"

"**Haste!**" Twilight, under the effect of the speed spell, quickly ducked underneath the flaming arrow that streaked towards him. "Too slow!" He rushed forward again. "Try this one! **Savage Blow!**" He raced forward, creating five afterimages behind him. He and his afterimages slashed at her again, but hit only air once more. She had, once again, retreated to a safe distance by teleportation.

"You won't be able to defeat me. **Magic Claw.**" She slashed at the air with her staff.

"**Dark Sight!**" Twilight ducked into the shadows of the mountainside, and the spell effect missed him entirely. He reemerged, taunting his opponent. "Now what are you going to do?"

She paused a moment, looked down at Manji, then back at Twilight. "Well, I guess I'll be leaving."

"What?"

"I obviously can't fight you right now. You're wasting my time." She prepared another teleportation spell. "Until we meet again." She vanished just as suddenly as she appeared.

"Manji!" Twilight's focus returned to what had just happened. He tried to pick up Manji's body, but couldn't. "Damn. Dark Sight's still in effect... and it's too long for me to just wait." He looked down the nearby cliff to the market below. "Only one option!" He jumped down, into the marketplace below. Twilight ran past stand after stand, finally catching up with a young brown haired woman in a simple blue dress. "Sophia!" he called.

Sophia turned around towards the source of the noise, and smiled. "Oh, Twilight! I can barely see you there." Her smile turned into a little frown. "You look so pale! Even despite Dark Sight being on."

"No time! This is an emergency! Grab your alchemy materials!" Twilight barked.

"What's the matter?"

"It's Manji! He's at the top of the cliff! He's been attacked!"

Several minutes later, Manji lay on a blanket in the corner of the Market, Sophia and Twilight huddled over him. Sophia clucked her tongue. "All I can really do right now is stabilize his condition. This poison isn't your average magic."

"Manji will be alright, then?" Twilight asked calmly. He looked down at Manji, who coughed loudly.

"I'm not so sure. Even with all of this, if left untreated, I'm afraid he may die soon."

Twilight cracked his knuckles. "I'll kill her. She's dead. I'm gonna hunt her down, and kill her!" He slammed his fist into the ground.

"Wait, Twilight! There's something better you can do with your time, rather than going on barbaric revenge quests!" She scribbled on a piece of parchment, and handed it to Twilight. "You must gather these ingredients. I need them to make the antidote."

Twilight calmed down slightly. "Alright. I'll get this stuff. But if I happen to see her on my way there, I'm going to make her pay."

"Head to Ellinia first. A lot of the ingredients can be found in the trees there." She pulled out a green return scroll, handing it to Twilight.

"Thanks." Twilight unrolled it, read the incantation, and immediately vanished.

Sometime later in the area surrounding the great forest city of Ellinia, a young mage ascended the interior of one of the hollowed-out trees that littered the landscape. _Talk about pushy,_ she thought to herself. _Hines must have said something amazing to Gramps to get him to go off on me like that. "Kai! You have a job to do!" Blah, blah, blah! I already know!_ Her straight, black hair fell unbound to shoulder length, and her sharp green eyes darted about the area. She leapt to another small ledge, straightening her blue Amoria skirt upon her landing. Spotting a slime across the way, she took careful aim, and summoned up her magical energy. A flame erupted from the top of her staff in the shape of a bow. "**Fire Arrow!**" she chanted, sending the flaming projectile streaking towards the slime. The slime was dispatched instantly. Kai leapt to the platform and collected her spoils. "Too easy," she said to herself.

"You want a challenge then?"

Kai turned towards the mysterious voice. A bandit suddenly stepped out from the shadow created by the platforms above. Clad in black and gold, and wielding a double-bladed knife, he stared at Kai with his piercing blue eyes. "Eh? Who are you supposed to be?" Kai asked him.

"Don't play dumb," he growled. "I was hoping to find you. Unfortunately, killing you isn't my priority right now." He pointed his weapon at her face.

"What?" A look of confusion spread across her face. "Who are you?"

He said nothing, save for a single incantation. "**Haste!**" With blinding speed, he advanced upon her.


	9. The Journey Begins

**The Journey Begins  
**

"Care for some tea, Helena?"

Helena continued to pace the floor of her living room, lost in thought.

A girl with light brown hair stepped out of the kitchen carrying a tray. "Helena? I made tea, would you like any?" she repeated.

Helena stopped pacing. "Yes. Yes, that would be nice," she said, distracted. They sat opposite each other at Helena's dining table. "Thanks again for coming down here, Judith," she added.

"Of course," she replied. "I wouldn't miss Resda's job advance for anything." She noticed Helena's despondent look. "Is everything alright?"

Helena failed to respond, instead pouring out tea for the both of them. "You and Resda... you've been friends since childhood, haven't you?"

"Yeah," Judith replied, her hazel eyes glowing as she reminisced. "We even learned archery at the same time."

"You two kept arguing about whether being a hunter or a crossbowman was best," she added.

"He was fuming when I made the job advance before he did, too!" Judith said with a laugh and a sigh.

"Yes... you two have been through quite a lot," Helena said. _And you're about to go through a lot more,_ she wanted to say.

"So," Judith said, in a sudden businesslike tone, "why did you ask me to come here?"

"Hmm?"

"It wasn't just to see Resda's job advance," Judith insisted.

"You caught me," Helena said, depressed once again. "There is something I need to tell Resda. It's very important to him; it could change his life completely. I... was hoping you could help him if I told you first."

"Resda can take care of himself, Helena," Judith replied. "How bad could it possibly be?"

Unsure of where to start, she cleared her throat. "Do you remember the story of how I became a hero in Henesys?"

"Who doesn't? You and Dark Lord and Hines and Sitting Bull, you battled back a dark force and sealed it away forever."

"Well, 'forever' wasn't ever the right word."

Judith's eyes widened. "Are you trying to tell me that Resda's going to have to fight that same evil?"

"He's the next champion. One of the four champions, to be exact."

Judith became indignant. "And you were going to keep this a secret?"

"He doesn't deserve to suffer the way we did!" Helena argued. "We sacrificed so much, only for our efforts to be in vain!"

Judith was in shock. "Helena-" she began.

"Resda has a lot of potential! He could do whatever he wanted if he set himself to it. You know this as much as I do!" Helena said, on the verge of bursting into tears. "It's not fair..."

Judith tried to console her, but before she could say anything, a strong breeze swirled around the room and a flash of light appeared on the floor. An archer stepped out from the new portal.

"Helena!" Hawk said, "We need to borrow your bed."

"Hawk? You're alive?" Helena said, aghast.

"I got better," Hawk added sardonically. "Right now, we need your bed."

"Uh, what happened?" she asked, still in shock.

"Laine's hurt. She and Resda should be through in a second."

Right on cue, Resda appeared from out of the portal, Laine leaning on his shoulder. "Helena," he said quickly. "We need to get Laine somewhere to rest. She's been hit with an arrow and-"

Laine spoke up. "Stop it, I can take care of myself. Just get me a chair or something."

"No, Laine, you're going upstairs," Helena said "We'll fix up that leg properly."

"It's not that bad!" Laine said. As the two argued the point, Resda mouthed a "hi" to Judith, who smiled back.

"Upstairs. That is final," Helena said, "Hawk, if you could take Laine upstairs, please." Without a word, Resda let go and Hawk helped Laine limp up the stairs. "Judith, please go with them." she added.

"Are you sure? You told me that-" she started.

"No, Jude," Resda cut her off. "I want to speak with her alone." The two exchanged an understanding glance, and Judith got out of sight. Resda glared at Helena.

"Resda, I-"

"I know," Resda said bitingly. "Laine told me everything."

_Damn you, sis,_ she thought, looking away. "Look, Resda, you have to understand."

"Perhaps I do," Resda continued. "But you told her before me?"

"Resda, let me..." Helena tried to continue.

"Explain? Laine told me you should have 'explained' it a long time ago!"

"Resda! Please!" With a voice marked with an unusual mixture of anger and sadness, Helena spoke above Resda's ranting.

Resda's voice returned to normal. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude."

"Yes you did," Helena replied, "but you are completely justified. I should have told you all of this long ago. But I only had your well-being in mind. Obviously, I was mistaken," Helena added before Resda could argue. "How much did Laine tell you?"

"Me and three other guys are supposed to fight the ultimate darkness and save the world," Resda rattled off.

"Ah, then there's still something I can do," Helena said. "The story is a little more complicated than that. You are part of a cycle. Champions have been fighting this evil since the beginning of time. The same thing happens every time - darkness reveals itself, the champions fight it back and seal it away, then must select successors to do the same thing according to the prophecies. But what matters now, is that it's your turn.

"The dark force has reemerged. You and your fellow champions have to destroy the darkness before it engulfs this universe, and others." Helena felt a great weight lift from her shoulders as she spoke. "And that's the story," she finished, with a sigh of relief that she finally told him what he needed to know.

Resda, in an interesting reversal, became quite troubled. "This is pretty big. A lot bigger than I thought," he said.

"I said the same thing," Helena said, a grin crossing her face. "I'd better tend to Laine's wound. Are you coming?" she asked as she stood up.

"In a while, maybe," answered Resda. "I've got to be alone for a bit. I have to think."

"I don't blame you," Helena said, before ascending the stairs.

Resda turned his eyes to the kitchen. "Judith, I know you're still here. Come out already," he called out.

Judith emerged from her hiding place, and sat down next to Resda. "I'm sorry, Resda. I just had to know if you're gonna be okay."

"I'm fine." Resda stood up, turning around.

Judith followed him. "I don't believe you."

"It'll be okay," Resda insisted.

Judith wrapped her arms around him. "I care about you, Resda, just as much as Helena does. Perhaps more," she added. "We don't want to see you in danger like this."

"I understand," Resda said, "But this is something I have to handle myself."

"You won't be alone."

"Right, me and the other champions..."

"And me, too," Judith added. "Even if I can't accompany you, I'm going to be with you in spirit." Resda turned around and hugged her back. When they finally let go, Judith smirked. "Who else is going to get your butt in gear?"

"I can move my own butt, thank you very much." Resda replied, feigning being upset. "Ladies first," Resda said as he made a flamboyant gesture towards the stairs. Judith giggled and the two of them went up.

Hawk met them halfway up as he headed downstairs. "I've done my part," he said.

"Thank you," Resda replied.

"Lick your wounds for now," Hawk continued, "but next time we meet, we're going to settle this."

"If you say so," Resda replied. Hawk stormed downstairs and out the door. It slammed just as a cry of pain issued from Helena's bedroom. Resda and Judith rushed upstairs to see Helena wrapping the injured leg.

"Stop squirming! You'll just make it worse!" Helena yelled.

"Well I wouldn't have to squirm if you did it right!" Laine yelled back.

"Whatever," Helena said, "I'm finished now." She turned to Resda. "Congratulations on your mission. I hear that you did splendidly."

"He's a natural, I tell you!" Laine said, forgetting the pain. " Helena, you made a good decision with this one."

"Oh, that reminds me... excuse me for a moment, Resda." Helena went downstairs.

In all the excitement, Resda had forgotten all about what he had originally come for - his job advance. "Oh, right!" He did a little happy dance, stopping himself when he remembered that people were watching.

"Good job, Resda," Judith said happily. "You finally made it."

"Thanks," Resda said just as Helena returned. The two of them stood in the center of the room.

"Are you ready, Resda? Once you make your decision, you can't go back."

"Of course I'm ready," Resda replied. He shut his eyes as Helena placed a hand on his head. As a roaring wind started to form in the room, the lights grew dimmer. As the air blew around them, Resda felt the transfer of energy. When he opened his eyes, the lights returned and the wind died down.

"Well, that's it. You are now a crossbowman."

"I can feel the new power. It's amazing!" Resda said, looking down at his own hands.

"I still think that you should have become a hunter," Judith said with a sigh.

Helena handed him a book. "Take this. It will tell you everything you need to know about your job advance," she said. Next she handed him a chain, with a small red jewel dangling from it. "And take this. As champion, you and your companions will unite by this symbol."

Resda took it gladly. Suddenly he remembered something. "I wonder..." he took out his crossbow, and inspected a carved notch in its handle. He took the pendant, and placed it in the slot, where it fit perfectly. The crossbow glowed a faint red, until he removed the gem, wearing the chain around his neck.

"You figured it out quickly," Helena praised. "It's as I mentioned before; your weapon is a part of this story too. Each champion wields their own unique weapon."

"Wait, so you used this crossbow too?" Resda asked.

"No. When I said 'unique', I meant it. The Arbalest was built for you, and you alone."

"Interesting," Resda said. "At any rate, thank you. For everything."

"Now, you have a responsibility, to us and to everyone," Helena stressed. "Don't let us down."

"Of course." The room lulled to an awkward silence. "Uh, what now?"

"I dunno, Ellinia, I guess?" Laine shrugged. "If anything, Hines will be able to give you a clearer goal than we can."

"You'd better get going now," Helena added. "Time is not on our side."

He nodded, and was about to leave, when Judith suddenly stood up from her seat on the bed. "Wait! I'll walk you down."

The pair descended the steps. "Judith, if you're thinking of coming with me," Resda began.

"No," she said as they reached the front door. "I just want to say..." She hesitated. "Remember what I said before."

"Of course," Resda replied, a soft smile on his face. The two embraced one final time, then Resda walked off. _Wow, what a rush,_ Resda thought. _I have a lot to do now, so I'd better head straight to Ellinia. Now the real story begins,_ he thought as he made his way east.


	10. Shadows of Doubt

**Shadows of Doubt  
**

Resda mentally struck himself in the forehead. _Stupid, stupid. How could I have forgotten to buy return scrolls?_ he said as he trudged across the forest floor, crunching through dry leaves and brushing away low branches. He now regretted his decision not to take the taxi, as fatigue set in. He gave up, sitting down at the base of one particularly large tree. _A quick rest won't hurt,_ he assured himself, as he closed his eyes.

Above him, something a little more interesting was happening.

Kai's attacker drew close, blade drawn, ready to stab Kai. "**Magic Claw!**" Kai chanted in response. She waved her staff in the air, releasing a magical blast before teleporting out of reach. Reappearing behind him, she was surprised to see him dodge the attack.

"**Savage Blow!**" he cried out, leaping after her. Kai jumped back to defend herself, and all he managed to do was tear her skirt.

"Try dodging this!" Kai yelled, adrenaline pumping. "**Fire Arrow!**" The flame flew towards her opponent.

"**Dark Sight.**" The bandit leapt back into the shadow of the platform above, effectively disappearing.

"So it's a game of hide and seek now, is it?" she jeered. "**Fire Arrow!**" She fired her spell into the shadow, hoping to catch him while he was defenseless. Nothing happened. Kai yelled. "I'll get you if it takes everything I have to do it! **Magic Claw! Fire Arrow!**" She cast spell after spell, finally depleting her magic power. "Did I get him?" she asked herself.

"Nope."

Kai turned towards the source of the noise, but before she could react, a knife plunged into her side. She dropped to her knees, clutching the wound, blood dripping onto the floor. "Who... are you? Why have you done this?"

"That staff," he said, not bothering to reply. "Give it to me."

"No! This staff is mine! It's important to me!"

"My point exactly," he replied, with a swift kick to her side. She doubled over in pain, releasing her grip on her staff. He reached down and picked it up. "Thanks for your cooperation."

"You aren't going to get away with this!" Kai said, glaring upward, on her hands and knees.

"I believe I will." He pushed her over to the edge of the platform. "I'd love to finish you off, but I'd rather leave you to the monsters. See you around... or maybe not." With another well-placed kick, Kai was sent hurtling to the forest floor.

With the wind whipping across her face combined with the excruciating pain of her wound, it took everything Kai had to remain conscious. _No energy, _she reminded herself. _If I can't teleport, perhaps I can steer myself onto that ledge._ With her remaining physical strength, she aimed for the ledge. Unfortunately, she only brushed against it, causing her to spin out of control. The combined feelings of dizziness, pain, and weakness flooded her body. _That's it,_ she said in resignation, the floor drawing nearer with each passing moment. _I'm sorry, everyone..._ was her final thought before she slipped into unconsciousness. With a loud crunch, she slammed into the bottom of the tree.

The noise snapped Resda out of his sleepy daze. "Gods! What was that?" He looked around his immediate surroundings. Finding nothing, he decided to enter the tree dungeon. As he entered, he looked down to the floor beneath the platform he stood upon. A young female mage lay unconscious on the floor, as monsters began swarming near. "She needs help!" he said, as he jumped down. The monsters were shaken up by this vibration, but soon they resumed their march, advancing on the both of them.

Resda locked a bolt into his Arbalest, preparing to fire. _There are far too many for me to take out one by one. They'd get to me too fast. So, let's try something new._ He took aim at a small group of Horned Mushrooms, and focused his energy. "**Iron Arrow!**" he called out as he fired. The bolt flew at a blazing speed, and started rotating in the air. It made contact with the head of the group, and proceeded to pierce through them all, dispatching them instantly. _Damn, that was cool,_ Resda thought. He fired several more Iron Arrows into the crowd, killing half of the group. But for as many as he killed, several more appeared behind them. The monsters seemed to pour out of the shadows. A few bold ones even leapt out and struck Resda several times before being shot down.

_Gods... there's too many of them! My kingdom for a return scroll! Wait... there's an idea._ With a sudden burst of ingenuity, he reached into Kai's bag and began sifting through its contents. "Score!" he exclaimed, tearing open the scroll, grabbing Kai, and reading the spell written upon it. With a rush of wind, they vanished, whisked towards Ellinia.

They reappeared next at the very top of the city, in front of the cottage belonging to Hines. Resda immediately knocked on the door. "Hines! Are you there?"

"Not now, I'm busy!" a voice issued from the house.

"Someone's hurt! We need your help!" Resda persisted.

After a long silence, the door opened. Hines looked annoyed, until he saw exactly who it was that got hurt. "Come inside, quickly," he said.

Several minutes later, Resda and Hines were standing over a bed, where Kai lay still, a faint magical glow surrounding her. "Is she going to be alright?" Resda asked.

"Yes..." Hines replied. An odd quality presented itself in his voice.

"You're sure?" Resda pressed on, catching Hines's apparent uncertainty.

"Oh... no, no, it's not her injuries that bother me," Hines said. "She did get pretty beat up, however... broken arm, bruised ribs, a slight concussion, very nasty knife wound... but it's nothing my magic can't fix up."

"Then why..."

"Well, your arrival was a bit unexpected," Hines said.

"That's the way an emergency works, I guess," Resda replied, confused by Hines's response.

Suddenly, Kai bolt upright, panting heavily, looking around frantically. Her wild eyes turned to Hines. "What's going on?"

"Calm yourself, Kai..." he said, in a soothing voice that seemed almost to magically melt away the tension. He turned to Resda. "Didn't I say she'd be alright?"

Kai took a deep breath. "What happened?" she said, this time firmly and clearly.

"Well, it appears that you were attacked. The fine upstanding gentleman to my right managed to find you before it was too late."

"The name's Resda," he introduced himself.

"I'm Kai," she said sheepishly, a weak smile on her face.

"Now that we all know each other," Hines said, "perhaps you could fill me in on the details of your attack, Kai."

Kai shut her eyes, shuddering to recall the painful memory. "A thief... dressed in black and gold. He attacked me. He stabbed me in the side, and then he took-" Kai stopped short. "Oh, no! The staff!"

"The staff?" Hines repeated, incredulous.

"That thief took it! I'm so sorry, Hines, I failed!" Kai broke down.

"Now, now, Kai, please relax. The important thing is that you're still alive," Hines reassured her. "Your grandfather, for one thing, would be more pleased to see you than to see the staff intact."

"Doesn't seem that way, the way he told me off," Kai muttered to herself, sniffing. "That staff was so important! I should have done a better job protecting it!"

"Do not worry, Kai. Just be grateful that you're still alive and able to get it back."

Kai returned to the rest of the story. "The thief pushed me off the ledge. I blacked out when I hit the floor."

"That's where I come in," Resda interjected. "I saw her on the floor, so I picked her up to defend her from the monsters. I had to borrow one of her scrolls to get here when they started overwhelming me." He scratched his head. "So what's important with this staff?"

Kai and Hines turned to each other. Hines sighed. "Perhaps I should explain. You are familiar, I presume, with the story of how I and the other three Wise Men saved the world?"

Suddenly, it all clicked. "More familiar with it than you think," he replied, showing them the red Maple charm adorning his neck.

"Then you're..." Kai tugged on her necklace, revealing a similar charm. "You're Henesys's champion!"

"So people tell me," Resda replied.

"Perhaps it wasn't just some coincidence we met," Kai said, excited.

Hines did not share in this euphoria, instead deciding to pace the room. "Puzzling," he said to himself.

"What's wrong?" Kai asked.

"I had no idea that you two were going to arrive today," Hines replied.

"Well, we did kinda come out of nowhere," Resda said. "So what's wrong?"

"I should have known." Hines waved his hand, procuring a spherical crystal from nothing. "Prior to your visit, I was trying to locate the whereabouts of the champions. But when I peered into my crystal ball... nothing." The crystal vanished into thin air. "Something is interfering with my clairvoyance."

"It's gotta be something terribly powerful to stop you," Kai wondered aloud, Resda nodding in agreement.

"Something... or someone," Hines added. "I must do research."

"And what should we do?" Resda asked the wizard. "Should we wait?"

"No, no," Hines replied. "You must get going. Try to find Kai's staff. If I could, I would tell you where to look. All I can offer you is a suggestion - try Perion. Your thief may be trying to sell your staff on the free market."

"Good plan," Resda agreed.

Kai climbed out of bed, embracing Hines. "I won't let you down again," she promised.

"I should hope not," he joked. As Resda and Kai moved for the door, Hines stopped them. "Kai! I have something for you." He held out his staff. "Take it."

"Hines? This is your staff! Should you really give it to me?"

"Oh, don't worry about this thing. Consider it a loan, until you get your own staff back. It's a little old, but it should serve you well." With many thanks, the two of them left out the door.

Resda started north, but Kai stopped. "Where do you think you're going?" Kai asked.

"Uh... north?" Resda shrugged. "How else are we getting to Perion?"

"We aren't going yet!" said Kai. "I want to restock our supplies."

"What?" Resda checked his bag. "I've got enough potions to go around, if that's what you're worried about."

"No," Kai said, dragging him towards the shop. "You're buying me a return scroll."

"What?" repeated Resda. "Is that all?"

"You looked through my things without asking!" Kai said, resolutely.

"You were unconscious!" argued Resda, as she continued to pull her along.

Someplace else, another pair was continuing their exploration. "Ozeku, I think we've made it," one said to the other. "These crystals should be adequate for my scry." She picked one up, depositing it in her satchel.

Suddenly, a monster appeared in front of her with a cloud of black smoke. "Deianira, step aside!" Ozeku said, drawing his great sword.

But Deianira stopped him. "Hold, Ozeku," she said before turning to the monster. "Welcome back. You have something to report?" she asked of her creation. Instead of attacking, it spoke.

"This is our plan, mistress," it finished, after talking at length, just out of earshot of Ozeku.

"Excellent. Now go," Deianira said. The creature obeyed, sinking into the floor through a dark pool. Deianira turned to Ozeku. "I'm impressed."

"What happened?" Ozeku said.

"They actually formulated a plan."

"Hmm, that should be interesting." Ozeku said, as Deianira returned to collecting crystals.

"This should be enough. Shall we continue?" Deianira asked.

"Lead on," Ozeku said, as they continued on their way.


	11. Strange Times

**Strange Times  
**

At the edge of the Great Tree that is Ellinia, a platform extends out, recieving an airship from the sky metropolis, Orbis. At that platform, a queue quickly forms, filled with young, able adventurers itching to take on a new adventure. This is pretty much routine at the bustling station - every half-hour, there is another rush to get on the boat to Orbis. Day in, day out.

However, one thing was different this time - among the crowd, two figures stood in line, projecting an odd aura. People turned to look at them, pointing out the mage, whose white hair contrasted sharply with her black robes, and the giant warrior standing next to her. "What are they doing?" the people gossiped among themselves. "They aren't from around here... I hope they aren't going to do anything fishy..."

The people's concerns, unknowingly to them, were justified: These were Deianira and Ozeku, two wielders of powers so dark in nature that even evil incarnate would do a double take. They stood motionless, awaiting the ship...

bored out of their minds.

"Gods, it's so hot out here," Deianira said, in a voice low enough that no one else could hear but Ozeku. "And these people staring at us isn't helping any."

"Kill them all and blot out the sun, then," Ozeku grunted. "I don't care."

"Hmph," Deianira sniffed. "Well I do. We must maintain our low profile, at least until we can locate and resurrect our companions."

"Then why are we here?" Ozeku complained.

"Idiot," Deianira sighed. "My latest scry has marked a place called Ludibrium. We should be able to find one of our companions there," she explained, as if to a child. "And this is the only way to get to Ludibrium without making a scene."

"This is so stupid."

"Shut up. You think you can do a better job?"

"Well I-"

"Silence." Deianira waved him off. "Look, here comes the ship." As she spoke, a majestic vessel descended through the clouds, floating level with the platform.

The usher at the platform reached for a megaphone, and began trying to calm the anxious crowd. "Now, everyone who has purchased a ticket, please fall in line. If you have not yet purchased a ticket, please go to the Ticketing Usher first before getting in line. Thank you very much." With that, she started showing people through the gate and onto the boat.

The two dark warriors reached the head of the line. "Tickets, please," the usher said calmly.

"You will let us onto this ship, now," Ozeku bellowed, his voice echoed and amplified by his armor. He drew his sword, and plunged it into the ground.

The usher remained nonchalant. "That little show isn't going to pay for your ticket."

Ozeku roared with anger. "Do you know who I am? I could end your life right now!"

Deianira cut in front of him. "I apologize for the rudeness of my brutish friend." She held her hands behind her back, and conjured up two tickets from thin air, presenting them to the usher. "I believe these will suffice."

The usher looked at the two of them, then back at the tickets. "Everything seems to be in order, then. Go on through." She waved towards the gate.

"Thank you. My lord will appreciate this small gesture of kindness," Deianira replied.

"Okay, then," the usher assented, nervously. "Next!"

Once on the ship, Deianira and Ozeku found their way to a corner and sat down, hearing buzzing chatter all around them. Several minutes later, the ship rose up, and began its journey. "These are strange times," Deianira commented as the ship maintained its course.

"Indeed," Ozeku replied. "There is no respect for anything. I will enjoy it when the master can finally rein in this pack of wild animals."

"Yes, a more true statement hasn't been said," Deianira agreed. Suddenly, a scream rang out.

"NO! We're under attack! The 'Rogs are coming!" a young thief yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Shoot! Everyone to the cabin!" a mage called out. As a mass of people scrambled for the door, they realized something shocking: The door was locked. As the crowd came to know this news, people began panicking.

"No! This can't be happening!"

"We're doomed, all doomed!"

"I'm too young to die!"

People began running around the deck, searching for a place to hide, as a smaller ship approached. The dark vessel came as close as it could to the boat, and suddenly, an band of four or five Crimson Balrogs flew aboard, roaring in fury.

"Oh gods!" One lucky warrior managed to duck underneath a Balrog's leathery wings, and landed at Ozeku's feet. He began to plead with them. "Come on, you guys! You gotta move, or you're dead!"

"Hmm... cowards, the whole lot of you," Deianira muttered. "These beasts are no problem."

"I'm rather bored, Deianira. Mayhaps we should take care of this little threat? I haven't fought anything in a while."

"Ugh... fine. Let's go."

The warrior stared, wide-eyed at them. "Are you insane? You can't take all of them on!"

Unfazed, Deianira called out, "I want to speak to the leader of this band of monsters!"

At that, the Balrogs stopped terrorizing the other passengers, surprised by this act of bravery. They growled lowly at Deianira, ready to attack her with full force.

"Did you apes with wings hear me?"

They roared in anger, and prepared to charge, when suddenly a louder roar filled the air. "Hold your positions!" A figure, obviously the leader, descended from the crow's nest and landed in front of Deianira. He wore a horned skull adorned with a single red jewel, distinguishing him from his comrades.

He growled at her. "You dare to challenge us? Us, the rulers of the skies? This is FOOLISHNESS!" the Balrog leader cried out. The other Balrogs began chortling, in their low, gruff voices. "You have no say in what we do, human." He turned towards one of his crew. "Take care of her. Show her the extent of our mercy."

"With pleasure," the Balrog snarled. He took a step forward, but was stopped by the blade of a large sword.

"Hold it. You want to fight someone, I will be your opponent," Ozeku said. The Balrog turned towards the holder of the sword, and saw a hulking suit of armor.

"That armor won't protect you long, human." The Balrog grinned, baring his yellow fangs. He slashed at the air, but the sword came up to parry his attack.

"Right. You're the one that needs protecting." With that, the battle began. The Balrog charged, but each and every blow was blocked by Ozeku's unnaturally swift blade. "Have you finished yet?" Ozeku sneered. The Balrog continued to rage, but suddenly, Ozeku launched his first and only attack, slicing the monster in half.

Adventurer and Balrog alike stood in awe of Ozeku, as he straightened and plunged his sword downward, through the corpse's head.

The leader whirled around, pointing out another of his crew. "You. Grab hold of the girl. Kill her if this human makes another move."

Another Balrog leapt into the air, clutching Deianira by the waist. "You heard what the Boss said. Lay down your weapon, human, or I'll kill this one."

Ozeku refused to comply. Instead he began to clutch his sides, laughing. "You talk as if she was helpless. You beasts are a lot less intelligent than I first thought."

"Insolence!" another Balrog yelled, as he swung his wing through the air, catching Ozeku in the chest and taking him apart at the waist.

The leader laughed maniacally. "Let that be a lesson to you! No one will challenge-"

"I'm sorry, but that was a really rude thing to do." A voice rang out from the top half of Ozeku's armor. The spectators did a double take, and realized that the armor was empty. "I would have commended you on your attempt, but unfortunately for you, it was rather ineffective."

"What sort of deviltry is this?" The leader called out. "I'm warning you, I'll kill the girl!"

"And again you miss my original point. Deianira doesn't need rescuing."

"For the record, I don't appreciate being called 'girl'," Deianira added, her eyes glowing red. She waved her staff in the air, and the Balrog who held her captive disintegrated instantly, screaming in pain. "I don't get to use that spell too often. Thank you for your participation."

Faced with this turn of events, the Balrogs had only one thing left to do - cut their losses. All of them flew away in panic, save for the leader. "You cowards!" he screamed. "Stand and fight!"

He looked back down, to see Deianira and Ozeku standing side by side, in battle positions. Ozeku stated the obvious: "It appears that it is now just you and us."

Filled with pride, the leader roared, extending his claws and baring his teeth. "I will destroy the both of you!" He charged forward with all his beastly might at the pair.

"Would you like to do the honors?" Ozeku asked Deianira.

"No, Ozeku, I think it would be more fun to use a combination attack."

"Very well. I'll start." Ozeku leapt into the air. The leader looked skyward, squinting as Ozeku headed higher and higher.

"You should not have just stood there," Deianira teased. With a flourish of her arms, stony tendrils smashed through the deck, taking hold of the enemy's arms and legs.

"**Jishinha!**" Ozeku chanted, coming down with his powerful blade. He tore through the beast's head and chest, but rather than complete the move, he twisted his blade, removing it from the still living target. With another wave of her staff, Deianira conjured up several fireballs and hurled them at the Balrog, burning him from the inside out. When all was finished, the ashes simply blew away in the wind.

"Well, that was rather fun," Deianira said, catching her breath. "I'm definitely out of practice."

"Aren't you glad I made you egg the beasts on, then?" Ozeku said, cleaning his sword.

Deianira rolled her eyes and said, "Fine."

The ship's passengers stared in awe at the pair. One of them began cheering, and the rest followed suit. Cheers filled the air as the ship managed to dock in Orbis.

"Thank you for everything you two have done!" the ship's attendants said. "You managed to get us through a Balrog attack with no casualties!"

"The pleasure was all ours." Deianira put on a fake smile, while internally she loathed the idea of being a heroine.

"How can we ever repay you?"

Deianira replied calmly, "Well, we'd like to get on to Ludibrium."

"Oh! Of course! We'll arrange a private airship for the both of you!" The attendants bowed graciously, before rushing off the ship to make the arrangements.

Ozeku jumped onto the arrival platform, and extended a hand to Deianira. She took it and stepped down gently. "Strange times, indeed," Ozeku noted. The two shared a small chuckle as they headed for their next destination.


	12. Proving Your Worth

**Proving Your Worth  
**

Tall, monolithic buildings jutted into the orange sky in Kerning City, silent observers of the constantly shifting colors and patterns on the ground. Among this bustle, one in particular stood out like a needle in a haystack - a warrior dressed in blue. His robe fluttered a bit as he walked, and his bamboo hat kept his eyes hidden in shadow. He watched people pass by him, their own agendas to fulfill. _So much movement,_ he contemplated. _All rushing off to one place or another. Do they even know what's happening?_

He thought back to the day Sitting Bull told him about his destiny, then to the day he was informed that it was finally time for him to fulfill it. _Perhaps I should not be so judging. I had the same mentality, up until I was told I was a champion._ "Heh," he laughed quietly.

Suddenly, the crowd turned, drawn to the noise of one particularly loud exchange. The warrior headed towards the source of the noise - a novice assassin was staring down a particularly rude mage, her hands trembling.

"Damn thief," the mage jeered. He looked down on her with extreme disdain. "Brushing up against me. I bet you were trying to pick my pocket. Hit me when I wasn't paying attention."

"Look," she defended herself, "I didn't do anything to you! Why are you accusing me of things I didn't do?" She forced herself to calm down. "I'm not going to continue this conflict. Let's just go our separate ways, and put it behind us."

"Huh," the mage sniffed. "I don't think so. You'd probably stab me in the back later," he continued. "You hear about that mage who went missing up in Orbis? I bet one of you thieves did it."

The thief cried out. "Shut up! Don't make me..."

"Make you do what? Fight me? Come on. I completely outclass you. Shut up and learn your place!"

"Maybe you ought to know yours first," a voice said from behind him.

The mage looked behind, only to be swept to his feet with a swing of a spear. "What the hell are you doing?" he yelled at his attacker. "Stay out of this! Who do you think you are?"

"Me?" the warrior replied. "My name is Omega." He raised his spear - a simple golden rod with a gold spearhead. It seemed to shine even in the shadows. "Leave the kid alone. Take your narrow-minded prejudice elsewhere."

The mage grimaced. "Alriiight, I'll leave her alone... I'll just fight you instead!" He drew his staff, charging it with ice magic. "**Cold Beam!**"

"Please," Omega said, deflecting the ice with his spear. He cast his Spear Booster, then immediately followed up with a disarming swing of his weapon. The mage's staff was flung a few feet away. Disarmed, the mage stepped back and ran away, stopping only to retrieve his weapon. Omega turned to the thief. "Is everything alright?"

Her face turned a deep red. "O-oh! Ah, I'm okay... just, uh, bruised my ego a l-little bit. Thank you," she stammered out.

"No problem," Omega said. "Stay out of trouble," he added as he walked off, a few people cheering and high-fiving him as he cut through the crowd.

A single voice piped up over the din. "So, are you pleased with yourself?"

The comment bore no malice, but something about it unnerved him. Omega turned towards the voice, to see another warrior. He had fiery red hair and wore dark chainmail with the standard white cross decorating it. He stared through Omega's eyes into his very soul. "Come with me," he said, suddenly turning towards an alleyway.

Omega followed cautiously, as the crowd eventually dispersed. At the end of the alley, the warrior stood, holding a door open. Without a word, Omega walked to the door and entered.

Omega felt a gut-wrenching tug, and the very world around him vanished, replacing itself with an open field. _What kind of teleportation was that?_ he thought. He stared across the field, seeing the mysterious stranger staring back at him. "Who are you?" he called out, putting away his spear.

"So, you're Omega," he replied.

"You're not answering my question," Omega said. "Who are you? Where are we?"

"Then that spear," the stranger continued, not listening to him, "that must be the Glorious. The champion's weapon." He stared at Omega again. "You're the champion, am I correct?"

"Yeah," Omega intoned, his eyes narrowing.

"Shouldn't you be out, er, champion-ing, rather than wasting your time mediating petty arguments?"

"What are you getting at?" Omega barked. The stranger's words pierced him more than they should have.

"You have such a large responsibility," he continued. "The entire universe is counting on you." He pointed a finger at him. "Can you do it?"

"Of course," Omega replied. "Sitting Bull chose me."

"Are you sure?" the stranger asked emphatically. Before Omega could answer, he added, "What makes you different from anyone else? Different from the people stronger than you, faster than you, just plain better than you?"

Omega hesitated. "What are you saying?" he questioned.

"Spar with me," the stranger suggested. "Prove to me that you're worthy of your title."

"No," Omega decided. "You have not done anything wrong. I have no reason to fight."

"No? What about self defense?" The stranger drew his sword - a one-handed blade - and raced towards him. Omega picked up his spear and blocked the man's attack. The sheer force of his attack caught Omega by surprise. "So, feeling outdone?" the man said, as their weapons clashed again and again, Omega on the defensive.

"No! I am the champion! I will prevail!" Omega said, still unable to get an attack in edgewise.

"How can I trust a champion who's as easy to defeat as you?" the man continued, still attacking.

"**Iron Body!**" Omega cast, and in the next strike the weapons locked against each other. "I will defeat you."

"You know what they say about pride!" Suddenly, the man pushed hard, forcing the spear out of Omega's hands. He followed up with a strike with the hilt of the sword, catching Omega in the stomach and forcing him to cough up blood.

Omega collapsed in the grass, unconscious, his last thoughts consisting of two words: _I failed..._


	13. A Challenger

**A Challenger  
**

Omega woke up with a start. He found himself in the same field, completely alone. "Guess it wasn't a dream," he said. He reached for his weapon. "Everything's intact," he said, drawing the spear and swinging it. As he swung, a strange feeling overcame him.

The feeling passed, leaving him with an empty head. "Whoa," he said, stumbling. "What was that?" He decided, after a short while, not to pay the matter any more mind. "I've got to get back." He looked up into the sky, but it was heavily overcast. "Let's just go this way then," he decided, meandering off in a single direction.

After a few hours of walking, he spotted something a few miles ahead. "Hey, that's Kerning!" He smiled when he saw it. "Thank the gods." A lone tree stood to his left, bare of any signs of life. A strange thought crossed his mind, and he drew his spear.

He ran towards the tree, and when in range, he swung hard. He waited for the invigorating noise of metal hitting wood. But it never came. He looked down at his spear, which was at the end of its swing, as he expected it to be. He looked up at the tree, which was still intact - a fact he met with stunned silence. Walking up to the tree, he ran a hand across it. "It's real," he said. He stepped back, ready to swing again. He attacked the tree, but rather than hitting the tree, the spear passed through it, as if it were only air. "What?" he cried out in alarm. "What's happening?" He swung again and again, trying to mutilate the tree, but the spear had no effect on it.

Omega dropped to his knees. "This is impossible!"

Kai dropped to her knees. "This is impossible!" She glared at Resda, finally showing her frustration over walking around in the dense parts of the forest. "How did you get us lost? 

"We're not lost," Resda said, "this is a shortcut!"

"Let me navigate," Kai suggested. "I've been here a lot longer than you have!"

"This from the mage who falls down a tree," Resda said, under his breath.

Kai heard him, and slapped him across the face. "How dare you even say that?" She bit her lip, and turned around, away from him. "You already know what happened..."

"Right," Resda sighed, "that was out of line. I'm sorry." Kai turned to face him again, this time a little smile on her face. Resda rubbed the back of his head. "I'm just a little frustrated too. But I know where we're going." Resda brushed back a few branches, then decided against moving in that direction and turned left instead.

Kai watched him, sighing. "You really don't know what you're doing, huh?"

"Well your complaining isn't helping either..."

"Ugh! I can't believe that Helena would pick someone as stubborn as you!" Kai growled.

"Well,_ I_ can't believe that you-" Resda cut his argument short. He turned around, trying to discover where a sudden noise had come from. "Hear that?"

Kai was scanning the trees as well, weapon drawn. "Yeah. Where's it coming from?"

Another rustle high in the trees put them on their guard. "There it is," Resda said, retrieving a bolt from his quiver and loading it. He aimed where the noise came from.

"Gotcha," a voice said from behind them. The two turned around again, only to face a thief. He wore black and silver armor and a cold expression on his face. A red whip was in his ungloved right hand. He snapped it in the air. "Crossbowman! Step away from her!"

Resda didn't move. "What for?"

"We have a score to settle," he replied.

Kai shook her head when Resda turned to her. "I don't know what he's talking about!"

"Don't play dumb with me," he warned. "You attacked a bandit earlier today. I'm here to get revenge."

Kai's jaw dropped. "He attacked me!"

"I don't care what excuses you have!" He cracked the whip again, as close to her face as he could without hitting her. She fell backwards. "You damn witch woman."

Resda stepped forward. "Look here," he said, "I'm going to give you one chance to leave. If you don't, you'll be forcing my hand."

"What concern is this to you, crossbowman?" he said.

"I was there," he replied. "Even if your response wasn't filled with prejudice," Resda added bitingly, "I know what happened."

"What are you doing?" Kai whispered.

"Protecting you," Resda replied, before turning back to face the bandit. "Will you yield?"

"Never!" the bandit yelled, cracking his whip. Resda jumped back.

Nocking two bolts, he fired them with authority. "I'm out of your range," he said. "But you're in mine!"

The bandit cracked his whip twice. Four pieces of splintered wood fell to the ground. "You wish it was that simple."

"How did you do that?" Resda said, amazed.

"I've had practice," he replied vaguely. Suddenly, he lunged forward, cracking his whip. Resda's crossbow flew several feet away, and he ran to grab it.

"My turn!" Kai said. "I don't need protecting." She prepared a spell. Suddenly, the bandit reached again, this time hitting her staff. Although she managed to maintain her grip, her focus was gone, as was the energy she used to try to cast the spell. "Damn you!" she said, teleporting out of his reach. She prepared another spell. "**Fire Arrow!**" she cast, sending a projectile streaking towards him. "There's no deflecting that!" she jeered.

"Please," he said. With his whip, he launched a clod of dirt into the air. The arrow fizzled out, smothered. "All your magic does is hit the closest target. It isn't that hard to stop you."

Resda returned to the battle. "You can't dodge forever! And we can stay out of range of your whip!"

The bandit responded by throwing a shuriken to his face.

Resda ducked the shuriken. "What the hell?" Only now did Resda see his enemy's trick. His opponent held steel throwing stars in his left hand, and "threw" them by tossing them in the air and striking them with his whip.

The bandit laughed. "Impressed? You should be. I, Akio, am one of the greatest bandit assassins in Victoria! My special technique is unbeatable!" He tossed two shuriken in the air, and charged up his energy. "**Double Stab!**" Striking both at once, Akio sent the shuriken hurtling towards Kai.

Kai teleported away. "It won't stay unbeatable for long!" she said. "**Magic Claw!**" The energy blades flew towards him, but he launched a piece of bark from one of the nearby trees to intercept it.

Resda and Kai continued their attack. But Akio's unique defense kept them on their toes. Resda's bolts were splintered easily, and Kai's spells were much easier to intercept because of their slower speed. Eventually, Akio was the only one doing any attacking.

Resda joined Kai on one side of him. "We need a plan," Kai said.

"No, I'll take care of it," Resda said. He turned and ran straight at Akio. "**Power Knockback!**"

But Akio was quicker. Another quick crack of the whip caused Resda to trip, the cord wrapped around his ankle. "Idiot. I've seen stupid moves in my lifetime, but you, sir, take the grand prize." With a mighty tug, Akio sent Resda flying into the air. "You can't beat me!" he yelled. He cracked his whip again, and pulled Resda down, smashing him into the floor. "My fighting technique is perfect!" Akio turned, as Resda lay on the floor.

"Resda!" Kai said, getting no response. "You bastard! What did I do to you?"

"I'm not fighting for myself, but for the bandit you attacked!" Akio yelled. "Actions like the ones you've taken don't go unanswered... not with us." He cracked the whip again. "And now that your bodyguard is out of the way, I can get to work on you properly!"

Beads of sweat rolled down Kai's face as she tensed up, ready to respond to Akio's attack. _What am I gonna do?_ she thought. _I have to protect myself... and Resda! _she suddenly realized. _We have a job to do! I'll protect us no matter what!_ Suddenly, a bright light emanated from her staff. Akio saw only a flash of yellow, then bright white before he was completely blinded.

"Damn you!" Akio stumbled forward, spots still in front of his eyes.

"Now! **Fire Arrow!**" she chanted, attacking Akio while he was off guard. The arrow exploded, sending him into a tree. Kai quickly teleported to where Resda was laying. "Resda, get up! He'll be attacking again in no time!"

Resda cursed as he got up. "I can't beat him!" he said.

"Neither can I," Kai said. "But what about _us_?"

Resda took the hint. "Okay. I'm done playing leader. What's our plan?"

Kai whispered into his ear. When she finished, the pair smiled. "On three. One... two..."

"Three." Twilight used his blade to cut a sprig of herbs from a larger plant. "That should be enough... to help Manji..." In a fit of rage, Twilight plunged his blade into a nearby tree. "You witch... you're gonna pay." He pulled it out, leaving two deep gashes in the wood. "I just hope that Akio won't do too much to her before sending her to me..."


	14. Teamwork

**Teamwork**

"Thr-" Kai started to say, before a shuriken passed between them.

"Don't think I don't notice you two scheming something," Akio said, another shuriken at the ready in his hand. "And for the record, you can't beat me. My style is unbeatable. So you should just surrender."

"Ruining my count," Kai muttered. "Okay. Go again, on three."

"Three already!" Resda yelled as he saw another pair of shuriken head towards them. The two of them split up. Resda nocked another bolt. "Take this!" Resda said, aiming carefully.

Akio raised his whip to deflect the shot. But suddenly, Kai teleported in front of Resda, arms poised to lauch a Fire Arrow. "Damn!" Akio said. He snapped the whip towards the ground, kicking up dirt.

Kai released the projectile, but in a flash, she teleported out of sight. Resda fired his projectile next. It caught up to Kai's arrow and the two merged, Resda's bolt set ablaze.

Akio dextrously flicked the arrow out of sight. "A burning arrow. Interesting, but not enough!" But just as quickly as he said it, another burning bolt flew towards him. He flicked it away again.

"Keep firing!" Kai said. Resda fired another shot in assent.

"Please!" Akio said as he snapped his whip again. "It's a nice trick, but you can't expect it to really work, can you?" Another fiery projectile made its way towards him. He cracked his whip at it. The attack continued. _Too easy,_ he thought as he slapped away more burning arrows. _They keep using the same attack. It's almost as if..._ Suddenly, he realized what had happened. _This is a trap!_

As he said it, his whip had cracked once more. But this time, his whip passed straight through the arrow. A small scorch mark appeared at the tip of the whipcord. "What?" he said, surprised. His guard down, the arrow finally hit, exploding upon impact.

"Now, Kai!" Resda said. Kai teleported forward and snatched the whip from Akio's hands. Resda nocked another bolt. "It's over," he said.

"But how?" Akio asked, amazed.

"Well, we know you can handle both my and Kai's attacks individually with your fighting style," Resda began. "So, we exploited its weakness."

"Your style, versatile as it is, lacks the ability to defend against simultaneous, varied attacks," Kai said. "A mixture of both Resda's arrows and my magic was the best bet."

"But I defeated your fire arrows!" he argued. "What did you do?"

"The arrows were a diversion," Resda said, as Akio nodded. "They were a distraction, meant to put you into a pattern."

"And I fell for that," Akio grumbled.

"But the last arrow I fired," Resda continued, "was no ordinary arrow. It was an Iron Arrow, with the ability to pass through other objects."

"Like the magic projectile," Akio realized. "Your arrow caught fire but left the real fire magic untouched!"

"Once you tried to deflect my spell, we had you," Kai finished. "We defeated you, now leave us alone."

"No!" Akio said through gritted teeth. "Damn you! You're gonna get what's coming to you for attacking a fellow bandit!"

Kai shook her head. "I told you already, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb," he said, an eye on Resda's trigger finger. "You attacked a bandit in Perion. Your poison attack nearly killed his friend!" he added with rage.

"What? I haven't been in Perion for months!" Kai said.

Resda lowered his weapon. "I think I get it. This is all a big mistake."

"Your only mistake was dropping your guard!" Akio raised an arm, ready to throw shuriken at Kai.

Resda ran forward, holding his arm back. "No! She's not who you think she is!"

"Bullshit!" Akio said, continuing to struggle.

"If she was as evil as you said, don't you think she would have killed you already?"

"Shut up!" he replied. His superior strength was winning out over Resda, who was still fatigued from battle.

"Resda, stop." Kai pushed them apart. "Here, take your whip back," she said, holding it in front of him. "Do what you will."

Akio was taken aback. "Perhaps I misjudged you..." he said. "It doesn't look like you'd strike someone in cold blood. You're different from the person that Twilight described to me." He reached a hand out tentatively, then quickly grabbed his whip. When Kai offered no counterattack, he pocketed his knives. "You win."

"Thank you," Kai said. "My name is Kai, and this is Resda." She offered a hand to Akio, and this time he shook it warmly. "We're on a quest to Perion to retrieve my stolen staff."

"A stolen staff, huh? I don't know anything about that," Akio said. "But if you're going to Perion, you must be careful. The story has spread across the city. I'll call off the others who would have come after you, but regardless, you shouldn't be expecting a warm welcome."

"Thanks, Akio," Resda said. "Hopefully the next time we meet, it will be on friendlier terms." Resda led Kai towards the edge of the clearing.

Akio scratched his head. "Guys, why are you going that way?" Resda stopped, turning around. "Perion's that way," Akio said, pointing in the opposite direction. "You'll get back onto the good path that way."

"And you said you knew where you were going," Kai yelled. "I knew I should have been the leader," she added.

"Well, how was I supposed to know that my shortcut would get us lost?"

"Next time, maybe you should know where you're going before you try a shortcut!" she argued back.

Akio left the two of them in the clearing, snickering. "Good luck to the both of them," he said. Once out of earshot, he said, "Well, I'd better find Twilight and call off the other thieves. There's something mysterious happening here. We need to find out what." He pushed on through the forest, finally disappearing from sight.

Meanwhile, in Henesys, the front door of Helena's cottage burst open. A figure appeared in the doorway. "You? What are you doing here?" Helena asked, eyes wide. The figure advanced, without a word.


	15. Alcohol and Explosions

Author's note:

One of the more difficult things about writing this story has been the lack of techniques for them to use. So I made up a couple of new ones. You saw a few of them in previous chapters (I think), and there are several new ones now.

**Jishinha** - Warrior technique - Slam your weapon into the ground and create shockwaves. The modern day equivalent would probably be **Slash Blast**, but Ozeku is from an older time where the names of techniques was not done in the common tongue. (Real explanation: I found some English-Japanese dictionary online and wanted to use a cool-sounding name.)

**Flame Wall** - Fire/Poison Mage technique - Throw up a temporary shield. Objects coming in contact with it are damaged.

**Afterimage Flash **- Rogue technique - At a fast enough speed, afterimages are left in your wake, confusing opponents.

There will be more of these in future installments. Here's to you not being confused!

Other note: Oh, I re-numbered the chapters. Now I don't have to change the numbers every time I update a chapter. Don't get thrown off!

* * *

**Alcohol and Explosions**

At the outskirts of Kerning City, one can hear the buzz of multiple voices coming from a little, dingy drinking establishment. The place was frequented by many a shady character, but today something was different. A new customer was sitting at the bar. A blue bamboo hat hung on his back, and he carried two spears - one a simple mythril spear, the other a glorious gold.

Omega leaned against the bar. "Hey, gimme another drink," he said in a slurred voice.

"You've had enough," the bartender replied.

"I'm paying, aren't I?" He stared at the bartender, but his eyes soon slid out of focus.

A large group was huddled in the corner, watching two strong men arm wrestle. It was a long, tough match, but eventually, one overpowered the other. The winner wore a muscle shirt, leather vest, and blue jeans. He stood up to proclaim his victory. "I am the strongest man in this bar! I dare any of you to take me on! You can't beat me!" His friends cheered him on.

"Shut up!" Omega yelled at the top of his inebriated lungs. "You're making my head hurt."

The bar fell silent. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me," Omega replied.

"Say it to my face, you blue bathrobe wearin' wuss!" The man's friends joined in laughing at Omega, who stumbled towards their table.

"I'm no wuss. Bring it on," Omega said, putting an arm on the table.

"You're gonna challenge me? I'll break you in half, little man," he replied.

"Move over, guy," Omega said to the person who had lost earlier. "I'm gonna show that guy what's up!"

"This ought to be good," the man replied. "On three. One, two, three!"

_Wham._ Instantly, Omega slammed the man's arm into the table. A few people exclaimed in surprise.

"Okay, okay, I wasn't ready," he said. "One, two..." the man tried to cheat his way to a win, but Omega's arm still wouldn't budge.

"Three," Omega finished, slamming the man's arm into the table. This time the crowd cheered him on with whoops and hollers. "I'm out of here," he said, "Too much hot air."

"You son of a-!" the man started, but Omega was already outside, swaying down the street. He ran out after him. "You bastard, I'm gonna tear you apart!"

"That so?" Omega grinned, drawing his mythril spear. Before the man could continue, Omega swept him to his feet. He growled, getting back up. He drew a knife and advanced on Omega. "Whoop!" he said, swaying out of the way of the man's attack.

"Hold still!" he barked, continuing to attack.

Omega was falling over himself to dodge the attacks, but did it with an odd grace. He suddenly dug his spear into the floor and pole vaulted over the man's head onto a nearby stack of crates. From there he began poking at the man's head with the blunt end of his spear. "Knock, knock!" he jeered. The man raged, knocking over the crates. But Omega leapt up again. He came down and swung downwards, bringing the man to his knees and knocking him unconscious.

"See you later," Omega said as he continued down the street. He stumbled his way into an inn, and reached the front desk.

"Phew!" the innkeeper said. "You smell like a distillery! You won't remember this tomorrow, will you?"

"Nope," Omega chuckled, throwing a sack of coins on the table.

"Gods..." he sighed. He pulled out the correct amount of money, then reached under the counter. "Here's your key. Room 157."

"Thankee," Omega slurred. He walked into the room and collapsed.

Meanwhile in Perion, two exhausted adventurers made it to the main gate. "Perion!" Kai said in relief.

"Yeah," Resda grinned. "It had been a while since I'd traveled to another city. We should do this more often!"

Kai cast a sideways glance at him. "Speak for yourself. My feet are killing me. Let's just get some rest then go after my staff."

"Sure," Resda replied. "But be careful."

"Of what?"

"In case anyone feels like picking a fight with us," Resda lowered his voice.

It took a second for Kai to realize what he was talking about. "Resda... this isn't your problem," Kai said, with a bit of hesitation.

"You're my friend," Resda replied, "so it _is_ my problem. I'm with you every step of the way."

"Thanks," Kai said, smiling softly.

As they walked through the town, they got a few dirty looks and muttered insults. One particularly fearful mother pulled her children away from their path. Kai was visibly trembling at the reaction her presence had generated. Resda started to speak, but was interrupted.

"You! Get out of here!" a man said. He threw a small rock at Kai, but missed. Several others joined in, throwing crumpled up newspaper and other random trash at her.

That was the last straw. Kai burst into tears. "I... Resda... I can't take this anymore..."

Resda held her hand tightly, and looked at the passersby. He glared at them, daring them to make another move. "Don't worry," he said to Kai, "I'm here to support you." They reached the marketplace, and instantly saw a small cottage with black fumes rising from the top. "There's the apothecary. You want to go in?" Resda asked. Kai nodded slowly, and the two of them ducked into the building.

Inside, the walls were lined with bottles and packets with unknown contents. In the back of the room, Sophia pushed back a few hairs that had fallen in front of her face. She carefully poured out the contents of the vials in her hands, placing them in a beaker. Sophia's eyes glistened as the liquid turned a glowing green, but her face fell as pungent black smoke began pouring out from it. "Damn," she said between coughs. She looked up through the smoke to see Resda and Kai. "Welcome to my shop," she said. "Can I help you?"

"No, thank you. Just needed to get away from the crowd." Resda walked around, Kai following close behind, head drooped.

Sophia noticed Kai, and her eyes softened. "Something wrong with your friend?" she asked.

"She's just been through a lot lately. Thanks for your concern." Resda moved up to the counter. "What are you working on?"

"An antidote for poison," Sophia replied. "But it isn't working out... I need the right herbs." She looked frantic, and Resda noticed. "And I need them soon, too."

"Can we help?" he asked.

"No, it's fine, I sent someone out to Ellinia to grab some."

"Well, the important thing is that soon you'll have that antidote." Resda smiled and left her to her work. He picked up a few bottles of potion, examining them carefully.

Suddenly, the door burst open. Sophia looked up, and breathed a sigh of relief. "You're back! Thank goodness!"

"I've got the ingredients, Sophia." Twilight stepped up to the counter, shoving Resda out of the way.

"Hey, what was that for?" Resda said, annoyed by his abrasive attitude.

"I apologize," he replied, not turning around. "I was in a hurry." He unpacked his bag and handed Sophia a bunch of herbs.

"These are perfect," Sophia said. "I'll start now."

Resda remembered his conversation with Sophia. "Oh. Good luck with the antidote," he said. Twilight turned and gave a little nod in reply.

Kai looked up from her inner monologue. "Everything alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, I got shoved a little. No big deal." Resda shrugged.

Kai's mood swung like a wrecking ball. "There's no way I'm gonna let that guy get away with that!" she said. "Hey, you!" she began to march up to the counter.

"Kai, you don't have to do that!" Resda said, but she was already stepping up to face him.

"You didn't have to shove him!" Kai yelled, but Twilight focused intently on Sophia's concoction.

"Kai, you're overreacting..." Resda warned, knowing it was futile. With Kai's despair twisted into rage, there was no possible way to avoid conflict.

Kai put a hand to Twilight's shoulder, spinning him around. "Pay attention!" The two met eye to eye, and the room fell silent.

The calm before a storm.

"You!" the two cried out in unison. They drew their respective weapons.

"Resda, this is the bastard that stole my staff!" Kai fumed.

"Sophia! That's her!" Twilight roared.

The two turned on each other. "You came back for round two, did you?" Twilight spit.

"You're not gonna catch me by surprise this time," Kai retorted. "I will have my staff back."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Twilight said. "Are you stealing weapons along with assaulting innocent people nowadays?"

"You're the only thief in this room." Kai glared at him.

_Something's wrong here,_ Resda realized. _Could this be..._

Sophia was shaking. _So, she's the one, is she?_ she thought. She attacked my friend. _And now she's in my shop! I have to do something._ Suddenly, inspiration came. _Well, there is_ that...

"Revenge will be mine! **Haste!**" Twilight roared and speeded towards Kai, Nazo drawn.

"**Flame Wall!**" Kai cast, throwing up a flaming shield. Twilight leapt back, stopping himself from crashing headlong into it.

As the temporary barrier faded, Twilight raced forward again. He began to run in circles around Kai. "**Afterimage Flash!**" he chanted, causing his image to blur and warp in everyone's vision. Kai whirled around, trying to keep track of where he was. But Twilight was faster, racing behind her to stab her in the back.

Kai teleported away safely, Twilight on her heels. He began to slash at her, but she parried the blow with her staff. The two weapons clashed against each other, and they struggled for a few moments before leaping back.

"Guys, wait! Stop!" Resda said, each word filled with more intensity then the last.

There was no stopping them. They immediately returned to fighting. Kai flung spell after spell at Twilight, who tried himself to close in for the finishing blow.

"It's over!" Twilight said, as he stopped running around. "**Savage Blow!**" he called out, with an inhuman burst of speed. With incredible force he slashed at her seven times, leaving bloody scratches across her left arm and legs.

"**Fire Arrow!**" she countered. The arrow exploded upon the point-blank impact, and both fighters were pushed backwards and dropped to their knees.

"I'm going to destroy you!" Twilight threatened between heavy breaths.

Sophia suddenly ran in between them. "Allow me, Twilight," she said acidly. "I'll get revenge for the both of us!" She held in her hands several small, round pellets. "I made these bombs for a reason, you know!" She threw the bombs at Kai.

"No! You don't understand! Stop!" Resda knew what he had to do to put a stop to this. He dove forward, into the path of the bombs.

"Resda! No!"


	16. Keeper of the Gate

**Keeper of the Gate  
**

"You... what are you doing back here?" Helena asked, mildly surprised. "You left so quickly earlier. I thought you had other places to go."

Hawk walked up to Helena's desk, and slammed his fist into it. "Damn it, Helena. Why did you pick him? What makes him so special? What does he have that I don't?"

"I'm sorry," Helena replied, in earnest. "You're right. Resda is no different from you or me."

"Well then-"

"Except," Helena continued, "that he was chosen."

"But I was ready for it!" Hawk raged. "I heard all about the story, and I trained long and hard so that I could be a part of it! It was what I lived for!"

"Let me explain something," Helena said, sighing. "Resda is the champion. No one willed it to be so. He didn't even know until I told him that day."

"That's insane!"

Helena tried to calm Hawk down. "Think about it from Resda's point of view, though: he expected none of this. It's all new to him. He wanted to live a normal life."

"Well then why didn't he just-"

"If he could trade places with you, I'm sure he would," Helena said, really trying hard to drive down her point. "But he can't. He doesn't like it, but he is willing to accept his calling in this world." Helena got up. "You could learn something from that, Hawk."

"Hmph," Hawk sniffed. "Forget this. I'll prove to him that I am his superior. Whether you like it or not!" Hawk yelled. He turned on his heels and walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

_Hawk..._ Helena thought, _if only you knew how lucky you are._

In the magical city of Ludibrium, Ozeku and Deianira's quest took them to the regions below the factory. "The seal is here," Deianira said, expending a scry crystal to make sure. "The flow of time here is erratic, broken."

"An interesting place to hide away a magical seal," Ozeku said. "Although with all of the security in this area, it makes sense."

"Come here. Let me enchant your blade so we can release the seal," Deianira said.

Ozeku laid his sword on the ground. Deianira began to run her hands over the blade, chanting quietly. She traced odd runes into it. A red glow appeared in the path of her finger, first faint but eventually a deep crimson. "Isrim had better be grateful to us," Ozeku said.

"I'm sure he will be," Deianira said. "But I'm worried about Euthys. Every time I try to look... the seal is somewhere else."

"It's moving?" Ozeku said in amazement.

"Yes, and that's why we came here first. Isrim was always the better tracker." Deianira finished her spell, and Ozeku picked up his sword. The mage moved a few paces over, drawing a line in the air. "Strike here."

"With pleasure," Ozeku said. He slashed the air, cutting a rip in existence. A figure emerged from the tear in space-time.

"Aw. I was getting comfy in there, too," he said. He wore a tattered, red gi over a black body suit. The sleeves of the gi were torn off, mostly out of personal preference. He smiled, but the smile was invisible, because his face was bound completely with black gauze. He spoke freely and clearly.

"If you call prison comfortable," Ozeku said, "then you may be right."

"Eh, prison, home. It's whatever you make of it," he chuckled in reply. "Ozeku, Deianira. How are the both of you?"

"Your attitude is as annoying as ever, Isrim," Deianira said.

"It's who I am." Isrim shrugged. "You would have an easier time telling me to see," he added, pointing at his eyes - long since rendered blind - for emphasis. "And either way, it's better than being as serious as you two are all the time."

Ozeku replaced his sword on his back. "Here we go again."

"So, Euthys isn't with you, I take it," Isrim said. "Too bad. I wanted to get this reunion party started."

"It's difficult to locate her," Deianira replied. "Her seal differs from ours... because it moves."

"There's Euthys for us," Isrim mused, "Always trying to do something different. Do you have a general idea of where she is?"

"Euthys's seal follows an unpredictable pattern. To get a good bead on her would require many more scrying crystals than I possess," she added.

"Good. I like a challenge." Isrim cracked his knuckles. "So, what news is there of the champions? Our blood enemies, the single most challenging obstacle in our way... you know who I'm talking about."

"They were easy to tie down," Deianira said. "I barely lifted a finger."

"Considering what your magic fingers could do, that isn't telling me much." Isrim grinned, but no one saw it.

"Let's just say they'll be busy for quite some time," Deianira replied. Details were unnecessary at this point.

"I'll hold you to it."

"Perhaps we should go," Ozeku interrupted. But his interruption was itself interrupted.

From the torn fabric of time, another figure appeared, much larger than Isrim, or anyone for that matter. It closed the disruption behind it. It was a spirit of sorts, floating within a giant armored torso and armored arms. The armor on his chest bore a face on it. He raised his great magical axe, floating as a specter in the air. "Halt," he said, in a voice that almost sounded disembodied. "That seal was never meant to be disturbed. You will not leave alive."

"Well. This is easily taken care of," Deianira said. She cast fireballs to destroy the creature, but the armor's eyes glowed. The fireballs froze in the air, then vanished completely. "Interesting," she said, her proverbial feathers ruffled.

"I am the Keeper of the Gate. By opening it you have unleashed my full power and wrath. Prepare to die."

"At last," Ozeku said, settling into his natural position, "a good fight!"

Isrim drew throwing stars from his pockets. "Nuts. I didn't get a chance to warm up."

"Your resistance is useless," the Gatekeeper said.

"You're awfully confident," Deianira replied. "I hope you can back up those words, spirit." She drew her staff.


	17. Twisted Fate

Author's Note:  
Every time I debut a new skill, I'll put it up here, so that you aren't confused. 

**Heat Wave** - Fire/Poison Mage skill - projects a blast of pure heat energy. It's more of a utility skill than anything else, and damage to the target and its surroundings ranges from none at all to only superficial damage.

This is a double update because I got a review criticizing my decision to leave people on cliffhangers. I'm probably still gonna do it, but what the hey.

Consider yourselves lucky, fellows, and thanks for reading!

**Twisted Fate  
**

"Resda! No!" Kai screamed. But Resda's desperate tactic worked. The exploding capsules struck Resda, immolating him instantly. He continued his flight path, finally crashing into the far wall. As the flames died down, Resda crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

"What?" Sophia gasped. "Why did he protect her?"

Twilight moved in front of her. "Sophia, stay out of this. This is my fight, not yours, or his."

"Don't try to be noble, you bastard! This is all your fault!" Kai's fists trembled. "**Heat Wave!**" she chanted, as a wall of heat energy erupted forth. It hit Twilight with full force, knocking him towards the ceiling.

Twilight righted himself in midair, and pushed off the wall. "**Savage Blow!**" he said again, but Kai dodged the attack by teleporting.

"You're not gonna get away with this!" Kai said, charging a spell.

Twilight recast Haste on himself. "I'm going to kill you!" Before Kai could finish casting, Twilight had already raced ahead, ready to stab her in the chest.

"Stop!"

A blade crossed with Twilight's, pushing him back. Twilight gasped. "Manji! What are you doing?"

"This... is a mistake..." Manji sheathed his katana but then immediately dropped to his knees in a coughing fit.

"You shouldn't be out of bed!" Sophia cried. "The antidote needs more time!"

"Don't... care..." Manji said, forcing the words out of his lungs. "You two... look at the floor," he added. Twilight and Kai looked down. On the floor, a small maple charm glinted red in the light.

"My charm!" Kai said, grasping for the chain on her neck. She pulled it out of her shirt, only to discover that her maple charm was still there.

Twilight, similarly, reached for his own necklace. He pulled out a charm identical to Kai's and the charm on the floor. "That charm on your neck," he said in surprise.

"You're the champion of Kerning City?" She gaped at him.

"Manji!" Sophia suddenly said. For Manji's actions finally had taken a toll on his weakened form. He had fallen to the floor, and was unresponsive to Sophia's attempts at revival.

"Sophia!" Twilight remembered. "The antidote! Is it ready?"

Sophia looked at the potion on the table. It let out a puff of green smoke. "It just finished," she said.

"I'll get it!" Kai grabbed the vial and handed it to Sophia as fast as she could teleport. "Will he be okay?" she asked with concern as Sophia poured the liquid into Manji's throat.

Sophia looked at Kai with narrow eyes. When her cold stare elicited no response, she sighed. "Just... take care of your friend over there. Twilight," she added, "help her. There are beds in the back."

Soon everyone was in the back room. Resda and Manji lay in silence upon the beds, while Kai, Twilight, and Sophia had gathered around a table in the corner. "What just happened?" Twilight finally said, breaking a long and awkward silence.

"I don't know," Kai replied, "but I will eventually."

Sophia's eyes revealed her surprise. "What is that supposed to mean? You can't still think Twilight is the culprit behind this?"

"I don't know what to think." The silence following Kai's words was deafening.

"Manji should be able to shed some light on all of this," Twilight said, to fill the space. "And your Resda seemed to know something too."

"Yeah," Kai added mindlessly.

"So. Truce, then?"

Kai finally snapped under the emotional stress. "Gods! I don't care anymore!"

"Kai?"

"An entire town hates me... all over something that didn't even happen!" Kai said through her tear-streaked face. "I couldn't care less about our fight now. If that means I lose, fine."

"_Didn't happen?_" Twilight repeated. "Get this straight, Kai. It did happen. You know it happened. Manji wouldn't be unconscious in bed right now if this didn't happen." He glared. "And for all I know, you are responsible."

"I could say the same about you and my stolen staff," Kai roared back. "You know what? Forget about this champion business. If you leave right now, I wouldn't care one bit. Champion or not."

"Stop!" Sophia hissed at the both of them. "Can't you two argue some other time? There are two people here on the edge of consciousness. I think you owe it to them to end this fighting... especially since their current injuries are your fault." Twilight cleared his throat. "Okay, mostly your fault," she corrected.

Twilight and Kai stopped. "She's right," Kai said. "This is bigger than you or me, Twilight." She extended a hand. "I'll take your truce." They shook hands.

Manji turned in his bed with a moan. The three rushed over to check on him.

"Welcome back, Manji," Twilight said, smiling.

"Thank the gods you're awake. Twilight did something right for a change," Sophia added.

"Thank you," Manji said slowly, trying to sit up.

Sophia and Kai set him back down. "No. You lay there and make a full recovery," Sophia instructed.

Manji grasped Kai's hand as she lowered him to the bed. "You."

Kai started gushing to him. "I'm sorry! It wasn't me! I swear!" she said.

"I am... aware of that," Manji said, weakly. "Your aura differs from that of the attacker. If I could have, I would have warned Twilight sooner... I apologize."

"No need to do so," she replied.

"So maybe... we can get back to work, Twilight." Manji looked at him with a steely resolve.

"Maybe after I handle this champion business," Twilight replied.

Sophia sighed. "You haven't been awake five minutes, and you already want to go back to work?"

"Anything is better than collecting Arcon's blood," Manji joked. He laughed a little, but stopped as it caused him to wince in pain.

"'Work'?" Kai asked. "What do you do?"

"Well, the three of us are treasure hunters," Twilight explained. "Manji, Sophia, and I get news of an historical artifact being found, or its location being discovered. We pick it up, then donate it here to Kerning's research facility."

"Kerning has a research facility?" Kai asked, doing a little double take.

"Yeah," Sophia said. "The research team - which included us - took over Mong's old PC Cafe and the floors below it." She chuckled a little. "The place was so filled with dust, I almost thought of classifying the building itself as a historical artifact."

"Well, if you're treasure hunters, perhaps you can help me and Resda figure out what we should do," Kai thought.

"What are you talking about?" Sophia asked.

"My staff was stolen. It's a long story," Kai said, "and we're trying to get it back."

"I was wondering about your staff myself," Manji said. "Each champion wields a unique weapon. And just because that staff belonged to a former champion doesn't mean it's yours."

"How did you know this was Hines's staff?" Kai asked.

"Manji has an eye for these things," Twilight said. "So, what happened?"

Kai told her story. She spoke at length about the mysterious bandit, nearly starting another argument with Twilight, before getting to the part where Resda rescued her. Just as she finished, Resda was regaining consciousness.

"Ow." he said, getting up slowly. Everyone turned to him. "Oh, that's good. You stopped fighting."

"I'm so sorry!" Sophia said.

"It's alright. Just give me a cut of the profits when you start selling those things," he joked.

"Resda," Manji said, "good thinking. I'm glad you figured it out when you did."

"Yeah. I had to do something. Did anyone pick up my maple charm from the floor?" Sophia pulled it out of her pocket and handed it to him.

"Then that would make you the champion from Henesys," Twilight concluded.

"So people say."

"Then I need to introduce myself properly. My name is Twilight."

"My name is Resda, and hers is Kai." Twilight reached a hand over to Resda, and they shook. "So. Talk about coincidence, huh?"

"I believe it was the work of fate," Manji said.

"Then fate is very twisted," Kai replied. "None of this needed to happen."

"My sentiments exactly," Resda agreed. "Someone set this up."

"Well, I won't rest until I find out exactly what happened," Twilight said.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Resda said.

"You all should stay here tonight," Sophia said. "Kai can stay with me in my room, and you boys can sleep here."

Finally, the group earned their rest. A peaceful silence filled the crisp mountain air.


	18. In the Dark

**In The Dark**

Isrim, Deianira, and Ozeku looked at the Gatekeeper in front of them. It picked up its axe, ready to respond to their attacks. "I'll go first," Isrim suggested. "He can't be that tough."

"Please, go right ahead," Ozeku replied. "This should be entertaining."

Isrim pulled two stars from his pocket. "**Kyoudan!**" With the magical trigger word, he threw the stars with excessive force. They struck his armor, putting chinks in it and pushing the Gatekeeper back.

"You're as skilled as I remember," Deianira said.

"Well, thank you." Isrim bowed, but stopped short. His senses detected the Gatekeeper preparing to attack. He prepared to jump, but the axe swung forward, crushing his leg. "Gods he's fast," he said.

Deianira handed him a potion, which he drank down, instantly healing his wounds. "I remember that part too," she jeered.

"No need to rub it in," Isrim said. He drew several sets of shuriken. "**Kijuusousha!**" he chanted, firing them rapid fire at his opponent. The stars clanked against the Gatekeeper's tough armor, doing only superficial damage. But the sparks that flew up were enough to keep it at bay.

"You'll need to do better than that," Ozeku told him. "Let me join in. **Jishinha!**" He brought down his sword with a mighty swing, splitting the ground before him. The shockwave struck the Gatekeeper, cracking the armor. "Child's play," he boasted.

Deianira waved her staff in the air, conjuring a powerful typhoon. The raging wind slowly widened the cracks.

But before anyone could do anything else, the armor's eyes glowed again. The spell died down, and the armor began to repair itself. "Foolish mortals," the Gatekeeper said. "You are dealing with power beyond your understanding."

"Stupid magic armor," Isrim said. "Ozeku! Hit him again!"

"**Jishinha!**" Ozeku said as he slashed the ground again. The shockwave had less of an effect this time; the Gatekeeper's armor continued to repair itself despite the attack.

The Gatekeeper responded to the attack with one of his own. "You will not live!" He slammed the ground with his axe, the same way Ozeku did, and created a large shockwave. Deianira and Isrim jumped back while Ozeku faced strong against the assault.

"Stop aiming for the armor!" Deianira said after the attack passed. "I have a new plan. Ozeku, give me your sword."

"What?" Ozeku gripped it tighter. "You can't swing it anyway!"

"Isrim! Distract the creature." Deianira drew the sword out of Ozeku's hands with magic, and began to enchant it.

"Ah, I get it now," Isrim said. "No problem! **Kijuusousha!**" He threw another set of shuriken at the Gatekeeper, but it barely fazed him as he brought the axe down to attack. Isrim leapt up into the air, high over his head with a Flash Jump. "Take this!" he taunted, throwing stars at him from the air.

The stars struck the Gatekeeper's exposed head, and it grunted. "Your attacks are useless!" he said through the pain. "Surrender yourself or die!"

"Not a chance!" Ozeku said, the enchantment complete. "**Ittou Ken!**" he roared, piercing the air before him, creating the same rift that Isrim had been sealed away in. The wind began to howl as the air around them was sucked into the hole.

Deianira teleported herself to a point on the other side of the Gatekeeper. "Hear this! No one will stand in our way! **Shadow Ray!**" She stretched out her hand, and released a burst of dark energy in a beam. The beam struck the Gatekeeper, pushing it towards the rift. The spell finished, Deianira dropped to her knees, her energy spent.

But by then, the gravity of the rift had taken over. The Gatekeeper was sucked into the tear in dimensional space, and the hole closed after him. "Let's get out of here," Ozeku said, "before the Gatekeeper manages to escape."

"Agreed," Isrim said. "Deianira, can you stand?"

"I'm alright," she replied. The trio left through the portal, reappearing in the almost-abandoned levels of Ludibrium's Toy Factory.

"You're still using dark magic," Isrim said critically.

"Yes, I am," Deianira said.

"You know what dark magic does." Isrim felt her weak pulse. "You're hurting yourself."

"I know," Deianira hissed, pulling his hand away from her wrist. "Drop it."

Isrim sighed, not willing to pursue the matter further. "Let's just find Euthys. Show me the map." Isrim took a hold of Deianira's map, feeling the points on the map that she had marked.

"The locations vary greatly," Deianira explained, after a few minutes of silence, "but they seem to remain within the confines of Victoria Island."

"Huh."

"Well?" Ozeku asked.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say she's broken her seal on her own."

"Explain," Deianira said, surprised.

"Well, considering how long you waited between scrying periods, I can't say for sure." Isrim pointed to various points on the map. "But there is a pattern. The target seems to be following a path of sorts. The larger gaps... here and here," he pointed again, "represent a kind of teleportation. And since they always lead back to a city, I'd bet it's a return scroll."

"Meaning what?"

"Well, our target - Euthys's seal - is alive."

"So. There is a woman in Victoria, and Euthys is sealed within her?"

"Or a man," Isrim said. "Or an animal, for all we know. Rule nothing out."

"But why?" Ozeku asked.

"I don't know either," Isrim replied. "It could be a form of reincarnation. The host body's power would be sufficient to seal away her consciousness."

"Then what should we do?"

"We will rest," Ozeku said. "Deianira consumed much strength in that battle."

"Agreed," Isrim replied. "You can't do any scrying in your condition."

"I've already started," Deianira said, to the others' surprise and disapproval. "And you'd be surprised to know that despite our efforts, the champions seem to be gathering together."

"Isn't that worrisome?" Isrim asked.

"Not unless the fourth joins them. My shadow creatures are doing everything they can to make sure this doesn't happen."

"But if it does?"

"Their orders are to kill them if this occurs."

"Seems logical," Isrim shrugged.

"Quiet down now. I'm concentrating."

"Be careful," Ozeku said. "You do not want to overexert yourself." Deianira nodded, but continued her scry. The three waited in silence and darkness, the world oblivious to their presence.

* * *

Author's Note: 

Yay! I figured out how to use horizontal rules!

In other news...

**Kyoudan** - Assassin skill - Throw two shuriken with extreme power. Accuracy is sacrificed, but this is negligible.

**Kijuusousha** - Assassin skill - This roughly translates to "machine gun fire" in Japanese. Take a guess at what it does.

**Ittou Ken** - Swordsman skill - It's a powerful stab attack. Pierces through defenses, and fairly useful in combat for a quick strike.

**Shadow Ray** - Dark magic - This spell comes from the dark side of magic, and sacrifices life energy to create a powerful beam. Dark magic was long ago considered too dangerous to be taught, so there are very few users of it today.

DARK MAGIC WTFBBQ, you ask? Well, when writing this story, I also developed a little backstory. I detailed the peoples' society, religious beliefs, and lore regarding magic. Traces of this background can be seen in today's chapter, showing through the characters. The background info is an interesting read, in my opinion - perhaps I'll show it to you at a later date.

I hope you remember Chapter 16. Thanks for reading!


	19. Morning

**Morning**

Kai woke up last the next morning. She trudged into the kitchen slowly, acknowledging the others who were already eating the simple breakfast that Sophia had made. "Morning," she said in the best voice she could muster up, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Good morning, Kai. Take a seat, and eat something. Before Resda finishes everything," she added, slapping Resda's hand as it reached for another piece of toast.

"Hey, but I'm hungry," Resda protested, rubbing his hand.

"Show some common courtesy," Twilight said icily. "She didn't have to make anything. And you should be mindful of the people you're going to be traveling with."

"Thanks," Kai said nervously. Twilight and Kai glanced at each other. The tension in the room was almost palpable as memories of the day before settled back into place.

Resda defused the situation. "Okay, I'll sacrifice myself for the greater good," he replied, dramatically. He struck a pose, placing an arm across his face.

"No need to be a jerk about it," Kai said, sitting down.

Resda looked up. "Who's being a jerk? I was just trying to be funny."

"It's not working," Twilight replied. They all shared a laugh at Resda's expense, leaving Resda to sit there, arms crossed.

"So," Resda asked once the table was cleared, "now what? Our only lead is cold now."

"There's always Kerning," Sophia suggested. "That is, after all, where thieves often hang out. You may run into your thief there.

"At the very least," Manji added, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "you may find another lead."

"Do you think Dark Lord would be able to help us?" Kai asked.

"Dark Lord... no, he wouldn't give us a second thought," Twilight spat. "That self-important fool," he continued in a mutter, brooding.

"That seems harsh," Resda said. "I'm sure he'd help."

"He couldn't care less. I never get a word out of him," Twilight replied.

"That's useful," Kai said, rolling her eyes. "Well, what about Nella? She knows everything."

"That is a possibility," Manji agreed. "She has given us good information in the past. And I'm sure she would know where to look."

Twilight began to gather his belongings. "So it's settled."

"Alright," Resda said, picking up his bag. "Thank you, Sophia, for your hospitality."

"It's the least I could do after yesterday," she replied, a grin on her face. Suddenly, she was struck with another idea, and rushed to her work table. "In fact, you could also take these," she said, opening a drawer and handing Resda a small quiver containing twelve arrows.

"Not to be rude," Resda said, taking the quiver in hand, "but I think I've got enough."

"Not like these, you don't," she replied. She pulled one out, and lightly touched the onyx arrowhead. "Aside from looking rather nice, these arrows explode on impact."

"Exploding arrows?" Resda asked, confused.

"I, uh, kinda made them when I was bored. They've just been sitting in that drawer. I for sure can't use them." Sophia shrugged.

"Well, thank you. I hope I don't drop them." Resda took the quiver and placed it carefully among his other arrows.

"Thank you, everyone," Kai said, bowing courteously.

"We'll notify you if anything important turns up," Manji called after them as they left the building. The trio waved goodbye and left the door.

As they reentered the outside world, Kai was immediately met with nervous glances from all directions. "They still think I did it," she sighed.

"That won't die down anytime soon," Twilight replied. "Rumors travel on wings. The story's probably reached the other cities by now."

"Thanks for that uplifting remark," Kai said.

"Don't worry," Resda said, gripping her hand, "I'm still here to watch your back. Let's get a move on, before we draw more attention to ourselves."

Meanwhile, in Kerning City, Omega woke up from his drunken stupor. "Urgh. Why does it feel like I've been repeatedly hit in the head with a baseball bat?" he thought aloud. Omega got to his feet, wobbling slightly. "Just what happened last night? What on earth did I do?" He looked around his room. "Well, at least whatever I did I had sense enough to check into an inn." He gasped suddenly. "How did I pay for this?" He grabbed his wallet, and found that it was empty. "Shoot, not one meso. Ah well, at least nothing bad happened..."

Suddenly, a knock on the door startled him from his inner monologue. "Hey, you!" Omega turned the doorknob, and the door flew open. At the door stood the bartender from the other night. A vein popped out of his forehead as he yelled at Omega. "You never paid for your drinks, you damn freeloader!"

"Drinks?" Omega tried to remember.

"Yeah, you drank yourself stupid and chased away one of my best customers!"

_Well, that answers the question of where I was... _Omega scratched his head. "Uh... I don't have any money."

"Well then, I hope you enjoy working off your debt! You start today! Move!"

Faced with this forceful attitude, Omega had no choice but to comply. He picked up his few belongings and followed the barkeep out the door. _What have I gotten myself into?_

* * *

I promised that I'd share the setting of Maple Legend with you last chapter. So here we go! 

**Lore of Maple Legend**

**Fundamentals of the Universe  
**

Fire, Earth, Water, and Wind are the four physical elements.

All matter is composed of these elements, although in general it is far more convenient to accept modern scientific observations. The general population tolerates both magic and science; in fact, the two have enhanced each other, most observed in the creation of magical technology such as airships and development of magic potions through mechanical means.

Beyond the four physical elements, there are two other metaphysical elements - light and darkness.

Like yin and yang, light and dark are intertwined. At all times, life is constantly struggling to keep these two opposing yet complementary forces in balance. However, any attempts to correct imbalance usually result in more violent swings between light and dark. This is most apparent in the struggles of the champions and the opposing dark force. Even an imbalance in favor of the light tends to lead to more problems - attempts to correct it lead to overcompensation and even more imbalance.

Hence, chaos.

This chaos manifests itself in the living world. The most common way for this to appear is in the form of monsters, as regular plants and animals become vicious beasts. Destroying them helps restore order to the world, however small a contribution it may be.

This is just part of it. The rest will come later, as I didn't want to overshadow this chapter too much. Thanks for reading!


	20. Something Interesting Happens

**Something Interesting Happens  
**

After days of traveling, Resda, Kai, and Twilight eventually got down the mountain, and one long trek later, they reached the outskirts of the expansive city of Kerning, where construction was being done to expand the city even further.

Kai looked towards the skies. "The sky... it's so beautiful... sunset, at any time of day."

"Yes, the perpetual Sunset Sky," Resda sighed. "It's almost surreal, contrasting against the sharp skyline."

"The only reason it's like that is because of all the fumes in the-" Twilight began to explain, but he was cut off by Kai.

"Don't explain it. It ruins the magic."

Twilight rolled his eyes. "Let's just get going then," he replied as he moved forward, leaving Kai and Resda behind.

"I'm not so sure about him," Kai whispered to Resda.

"Well, he means well. And don't forget, he's innocent until proven guilty."

"I know, but not long ago we were trying to kill each other," she argued. "I just don't know."

"Considering that that's partly your fault too," Resda insisted, "I think he deserves more credit than that."

"Yeah..." Kai said.

"You saw his maple charm," Resda reminded her. "And if he really wanted to murder you he would do it more directly."

"That's a valid point," she said, chuckling.

"I'm a little concerned, though," Resda commented as they caught up. "The citizens may try to start something when we get into the city."

"Please," Twilight scoffed at him. "Even if they have heard the story, most people in Kerning won't care. We'll get one or two people who'll try to do you harm, Kai, but that's how it is for everyone in the city."

"I can deal with one or two people," Kai said. "Just not an entire city." She shuddered at the memory of the cold reception she recieved in Perion, and strained to find a new topic to talk about. "What are they building anyway?" Kai asked Twilight.

"You ask as if I know," Twilight answered. "It's probably some more apartments or office space. Besides, the construction's been taking so long that no one minds it anymore."

"Come to think of it," Resda said, "the site hasn't changed much since the last time I was here, a few months ago. Talk about slow jobs."

"Maybe we should get going," Twilight interrupted. The trio moved through the site into the heart of Kerning City. Getting around in itself took extremely long because of the sheer number of people who brushed past them on the crowded streets.

"Hey, wait," Resda said. "Nella probably has heard Twilight's side of the story by now. What if she sends the police after you?"

"We'll just have to tell her the truth, then," Kai replied matter-of-factly.

"Are you implying something?" Twilight said, on the defensive.

"No, no," Resda said, drops of sweat forming on his forehead. "Let's just hope she's heard the whole story, not just half of it."

"I suppose," Twilight replied. "The sooner we see her, the better."

_That was close._ "So, uh, where does she hang out?" Resda asked.

"Well, there's this bar across town. It's a little one, but I guess she likes the atmosphere."

Meanwhile, at a little bar across town, Omega was hard at work, under the watchful eye of the bartender. He went from table to table, serving drinks. "Here you go, ma'am," he said as he handed a woman a glass.

"Thanks," she said cheerily, brushing back a strand of her raven black hair. Suddenly, she stared at him with intense violet eyes. "Hmm," she added, "you look nervous."

"I'm not here by choice, you know," Omega replied, balancing the tray. Her look had caught him off guard, and he didn't know how to react.

"Here, take a load off. Have a seat," she offered.

"I'd like to, but..."

"No, I insist. Sit down." When Omega still hesitated, she improved her offer. "Come on, please? I'll pay your tab." Omega, in gratitude, took the golden opportunity. She looked at him, smiling. "So. You're the one who was in that bar fight yesterday, huh?"

"How did you know about all that?"

"Word gets around," she said ambiguously. "That was pretty stupid of you, you know."

"Yeah, I figured that. I wasn't myself," Omega lied. In truth, he remembered nothing about what had happened the day before.

"But for the record, I don't disagree with deflating that guy's ego a little bit. He had it coming. He's a total loser."

"Glad to be of service, I guess."

"I'm Nella, by the way," she said.

"Oh. My name is Omega," he replied. "I've heard your name before..."

"Yeah, I'm famous for knowing all sorts of gossip," Nella replied, waving it off. "Or would one say 'infamous'?"

"I guess that would depend on the type of information you know, huh?" The two laughed a little.

The bartender yelled from the bar at Omega. "Hey! Stop slacking and get some more ice from the back!"

"You'd better get back to work, at least for today," Nella said. "I'll handle it later before I leave."

"Thanks a lot, Nella. I'd be glad to pay you back later..."

"No, it's fine. Your company was payment enough. Now, go on before he yells again. I swear, that guy has some anger issues."

"Unfortunately for me," Omega said. He quickly shook her hand and left for the back room.

At that moment, Resda, Kai, and Twilight arrived. Resda took a look around. "Hmm. Not the greatest place I've ever visited."

Kai had to agree. "Yeah. The crowd doesn't look too friendly either."

"As long as we keep a low profile, we ought to be safe," Twilight warned. "Look, there's Nella at the table."

"Wow, three more guests," Nella said as the trio approached. "Hello. Let's see... Kai, Resda, and Twilight, right?" They nodded. Nella pointed to Twilight and Kai. "Well, I had heard about how you attacked him," she said, "but..."

"No, it's the truth, I was attacked," Twilight insisted. "But, there's probably more to the story that we don't know about."

"And that's why you came to see me, isn't it?"

"Well, no," Resda said, "although we have another question that's kinda related to that."

"I don't do favors for free," Nella said, business-like in tone. "But if you had some information to exchange, I _might_ be able to waive the payment." Again, her purple-eyed stare helped to drive home her point.

"Well, you may not have heard Kai's side of the story regarding this attack," Twilight said.

Nella collected her thoughts a moment, deciding that indeed she had not heard the story. "Okay. Let's hear it."

Resda, Kai, and Twilight carefully explained the situation as Nella ordered drinks for the four of them. The trio conveniently left out the part about their being the champions; they had agreed long ago that the less attention they got, the better.

"So, that's where we stand right now," Resda finally finished.

"That's quite an interesting story," Nella said. "Kai, I'm not sure how much help I can be, but I have heard a few people talk about an odd mage who uses a staff matching that description. She's in Sleepywood, last I heard."

"Awesome!" Kai said. "We may be onto something."

"Even if it's a wild goose chase, it would be worthwhile to talk to Eurek the Alchemist," Twilight said. "I owe him for his help with Manji's antidote."

"So, you guys want to stay here another day or so, or should we move on?" Resda asked.

"I vote we move on," Kai said. "After all, it's not like anything interesting is happening here anyway..."

Right on cue, a woman burst through the door. Her revealing pink toga revealed her to be Lakelis, one of the three sisters in charge of the Party Quest, a tourist attraction for lower-level adventurers. "Please, someone help!"

Nella stood up. "Lakelis! What's wrong?"

Lakelis strained to regain her composure and walked over to Nella's table. "Something's happening in the dungeon! I've sent several groups in, but no one has come out yet!"

"This could be serious," Nella said. "Have you gone in and checked for yourself?"

"I would, but it's too unsafe. If I became trapped in there, there'd be no way in to save anyone," Lakelis said.

Suddenly, Nella was struck with an idea. "Resda, Kai, Twilight! Why don't you go help her out?"

The trio looked at each other and shrugged. "We'd be glad to," Resda said for the group.

"I don't know..." Lakelis said. "I can easily make an exception for your experience level, but groups of four are the stablest to transport. Sending only a group of three may put you in unnecessary danger."

Nella smiled. "I've got just the fourth person in mind..."

* * *

And guess who it is... 

Thanks for reading!

- Resda


	21. Fate Works in Mysterious Ways

**Fate Works in Mysterious Ways  
**

Moments later, Nella introduced her find with a flourish. "Here he is! Say hi."

A young man in a white t-shirt and blue shorts waved sheepishly. "Uh, hello guys."

"Honestly, he's a little green. But I'm sure he can help you out!"

In demonstration, the kid drew a short sword, and brandished it in the air. However, he quickly lost control of it, and it clattered to the floor, making the others in the bar wince. "Ah! I didn't mean to do that! I swear."

"His name is Tahu. He's a good friend of mine, so do your best to keep him out of trouble, 'kay?" Nella smiled warmly.

Resda, Kai, Twilight, and Lakelis looked at the warrior. "Uh, are you sure that he's up for it?" Lakelis asked.

"Sure he is! Right, Tahu?" Nella turned to her friend.

"Uh... I guess so..."

"Let me discuss this with my associates," Resda said. The three of them gathered in a huddle.

"Nella must be kidding! We can't take him!" Kai said.

"I agree," Twilight whispered. "He's far too inexperienced. He would be a burden."

"Well, I know that," Resda said. "But do we have anyone else in mind?"

Kai looked around nervously. She spotted a person and pointed him out. "There! How about him? Anyone's better than this guy!"

Resda and Twilight looked where she was pointing. A young man stepped out of the back room carrying two large bags of ice. His blue hat and robes made him stand out immediately. The three of them ducked down again before he noticed them. "I don't know... can he even fight?" Resda asked.

"Sure he can!" Kai said. "I'm sure of it!" Kai stood up straight and turned to Nella. "Sorry, Nella, but... uh... we're already a group of four."

Nella raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Kai raced over to the worker and pulled him into their huddle. "You! You're joining our party, okay?"

Omega leapt back. "Wh-what? I don't even know you!"

Kai took Omega's hand and shook it vigorously, pulling him back into their huddle. "Hi, my name's Kai. It's nice to meet you. Now join our party!"

Omega jerked his hand out of her grip and glared at her. "No way! You can't just walk up to someone and force them to do something for you!" He turned around and began to storm off.

Twilight and Resda rushed over and whirled him around, back into the conversation. "Come on. We could use your help," Twilight said. "You can fight, right?"

"Uh... yes. I'm a spearman."

"That's great!" said Resda. "Your help would be greatly appreciated. You see, Lakelis needs a group to go in and investigate the dungeon... something's going on down there."

"Interesting," Omega thought aloud. After looking around, he continued. "And for the record, I don't really want to be here anyway."

"Well, if you help us, everyone wins," Twilight said. "Do we have a deal?"

"Sure. But I have to warn you..."

Before Omega could finish, the three of them turned towards Nella. "This is our guy!" Resda said. "His name is... uh... oh..."

"Who? Omega?" Nella said. The three nodded, gave thumbs up, or otherwise made gestures that meant yes. "Well, if you're sure." Nella yelled at the bartender. "Oy! We're stealing Omega, okay? I'm paying his tab!"

"Whatever! He was a deadbeat anyway," the bartender grumbled before going back to wiping down glasses.

Lakelis, meanwhile, was content to smirk at the events unfolding in front of her. "Well, now that that matter's settled... If you could get your belongings, then we can get started."

As they trailed behind Lakelis, Resda took the opportunity to start some conversation. "We never really introduced ourselves. My name is Resda."

"My name is Twilight," he said.

"And you already know that I'm Kai," she finished.

"I am called Omega. It is nice to meet you all, despite the circumstances," Omega replied.

Simultaneously, the four of them felt chills run down their spine. Kai shuddered as she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. "Is it just me, or does something feel off?"

"I'm not sure..." Twilight said, looking around. Suddenly, he was struck with a compulsion. "Omega, would you happen to have a little red charm in your possession?"

Resda reached for his pendant. "It looks like this," he said, pulling it out. He was surprised to see that it was glowing - something it had never done before. Kai and Twilight looked at their own charms, and made the same observations. "Whoa..." he gasped.

Omega stood agape. "You three... you're the champions, aren't you?"

Twilight looked at the others. They decided that there was no use denying it. "Guilty as charged," Twilight responded. "Why do you ask?"

Omega pulled on a chain around his neck. A similar charm was suspended on it, and it too glowed brightly.

Back at the bar, Nella shook Tahu's hand. "Sorry about making you humiliate yourself, Tahu. But thanks a lot! I was hoping to get those four together eventually."

"Eh, I owed you one anyway," Tahu draped his mage's robes over his white undershirt and blue shorts.

"My services don't come cheap," Nella said, wagging a finger. "Maybe you'll remember that next time."

Tahu laughed as he replaced his hat on his head. "But why are you so intent on getting them together?" he asked.

"Oh, no reason in particular," Nella replied.

"You know something, don't you?" Tahu asked, with an air of suspicion.

"Of course I do. I always know."

* * *

This chapter is a little bit of an inside joke. When I had run this story before, a lot of people had to say "OOH! OOH! OMEGA'S GONNA JOIN THE PARTY!" Which was the obvious choice. 

But I was at a stage of my life where alienating my readers was fun for me. (It still is.) So Omega joined their party, but only as a last resort.

That and it's fun for things to happen in ways you don't expect.

Continue your perusal of this storylike fiction!

- Resda


	22. Dead Dungeon

**Dead Dungeon  
**

Omega tucked his necklace back underneath his kendo robe. Resda was ecstatic. "So! That makes you the champion of Perion, right?"

Kai grinned. "Unbelievable! I mean, I never put much stock in the prophecy before now, but..."

"I know, right?" Resda and Kai beamed at each other and at Omega.

Twilight observed Omega's despondent look. "There's something more, isn't there?" Twilight asked. Resda and Kai stopped chattering for a moment.

Omega cast his eyes to the floor. "I'm no champion..."

"Don't say that," Resda said, sympathetic. "I couldn't believe it either when they told me."

"No, it's not like that."

"Where's your weapon?" Kai asked Omega. He visibly cringed.

"Kai's right. That spear you're carrying is an off-the-shelf mythril spear," Twilight noticed.

"Was it stolen?" Resda added darkly.

"No, it's right here," Omega said, reaching into his bag and retrieving a long golden spear. "It's just... I... Perhaps I should demonstrate." Omega turned towards a nearby telephone pole. He swung.

"Omega, what are you doing?" Kai and Resda braced themselves for the chaotic clang of metal against metal. But nothing happened.

Omega reached the end of his swing, panting heavily. "You see what I'm talking about?"

"Your spear... it passed right through the pole!" Kai said, surprised.

"I see," Twilight said, unfazed. He turned his back on the others, walking after Lakelis. "Let's go. We're losing time."

"'I see?' What's that supposed to mean?" Resda yelled at his teammate, running after him.

Kai looked Omega in the eyes. "I'm sorry, Omega. He gets like this, all dark and brooding and-"

"Don't apologize. I know what he's saying. And he's right." Omega walked down the path, closely followed by a sighing Kai.

Lakelis, meanwhile, was at the entrance to the dungeon. Much to her dismay, a crowd of eager participants formed almost immediately after she had returned. She sighed. "I hate this part of the job," she muttered, before pulling out a megaphone. "I told you before! The Party Quest dungeon is still closed to the public!" she yelled over the din. "It's too dangerous!"

"That's bull!" one young mage said, and his party agreed. "We've waited forever."

"Whoever's in there better have a good reason for making us wait!" another party leader yelled angrily.

At that moment, the foursome caught up. "There you are!" Lakelis yelled, seething with rage. "What the hell took you? There are lives at stake!"

"Sorry, Lakelis," Kai said.

She came to her senses. "It's not your fault," she sighed, "I'm just a little frustrated. Just get ready."

"Okay," Twilight replied. The four of them stood still. They were all used to the feeling of being teleported into the dungeon, but it was definitely much more comfortable to minimize movement while the magic happened.

"What?" some people yelled after noticing what was going on. "Why are they getting in?"

Lakelis pointedly ignored them. "I'll send you in now. Good luck," she said, as her magic whisked them away to the dungeon.

Resda opened his eyes. Before him lay the first area of the Dungeon. Trees and vines sprawled about the area... but something was off. "We're here," he said, "aren't we?"

"This looks like the place..." Omega started.

Twilight finished his thought. "But it doesn't feel right."

"The air is... dead..." Kai added. They all agreed - upon entering, the marsh fumes should have filled their lungs immediately. But nothing like that happened now. The swamp was as silent as death. Chills ran down their spines simultaneously.

"Shouldn't Cloto or Nella have greeted us by now?" Omega posed the question. "But no one's here."

"They might be up ahead," Resda suggested. "At the portal."

"Let's hope so." Kai's voice was a little higher-pitched than normal.

The four of them walked along the forest floor. No enemy came in their way, but that only served to put everyone on edge. At the portal, they were greeted with a new sight. The stone archway was lit up with a green glow, as the open portal swirled in front of them. Resda stared at the portal. "Huh. Cloto didn't even open it."

"Hold on, guys, this could be a trap," Twilight said.

"Well, if Cloto and Nella aren't here, we don't have much of a choice in the matter now do we?" Resda stepped forward resolutely. Kai whimpered a little bit, but stuck it out and walked through the portal with him, closely followed by Omega.

"Damn it, I guess we're caught," Twilight said to himself, following them through. He braced himself, unsure of what would find him on the other side. He relaxed once he got through with no opposition.

"This place is empty too," Kai breathed. "It's kinda creepy."

"No sign of Cloto or Nella," Omega said, returning from scouting ahead. "But the next area's open."

"No turning back now," Twilight shrugged. "I just hope that it stays this easy."

It did. The champions approached what they knew as the "final stage", lair of the King Slime, with no opposition. They passed through the last portal into the area - an almost vertical hill, with platforms jutting out of the rock face. The Slime King usually lay at the bottom of the chasm, taking on any challengers. But as they entered the area, the same chilling emptiness met them.

"The entire dungeon is empty!" Kai complained. "I want to know what's going on, now!"

"You're gonna get your chance," Omega said, after examining the archway at the end of the path. "The portal isn't open."

"No way to go but down," Twilight said, leading the others down the steep hill. It seemed to have gotten steeper than usual - Resda had difficulty descending even with his treaded shoes. It was even worse for Kai. At one point she completely lost her footing, falling backwards towards the ledge.

"Kai!" Resda and Omega called, as Twilight slid down the ledge after her.

She managed to recover by teleporting straight down to the level platform beneath her. "I'm okay," she said. Breathing sighs of relief, the four continued down.

"Hey, I think there's something moving down there," Resda noticed as they descended the hill.

Omega stared down with him. "Why? Everything else is gone, why would the Slime King still be here?"

"Omega! Behind you!" Kai screamed, as a growl reached his ears. Nearly instantaneously, Omega had drawn his mythril spear, slicing the Curse Eye in half.

"That was a spear attack?" Resda said, amazed. "That was so fast!"

"You fight like a real _champion_," Kai added, emphasizing the last word.

Twilight had no response. "Let's keep going," he said. "If there's life down here that means we can defeat the Slime King and get to the next area that way." He descended the hill.

Kai looked at Omega apologetically, but Omega waved his hand. Resda sighed, and the three of them followed Twilight down to an outcropping just above the Slime King's lair.

Kai stared downward, seeing the Slime King off to one side, not moving an inch. "Here's the plan, Twilight," she said. "It's a simple strategy. Resda and I will jump down first and distract it with ranged attacks. You and Omega will jump down from above to strike it when the time comes."

"Easy enough," Twilight cracked his knuckles. "Let's go."


	23. Confronting the King

**Confronting the King  
**

Resda took the opportunity to remove his charm and slide it into the notch in his weapon. "Whenever you're ready, guys." Kai signaled, and the pair leapt down to the floor. Their landing must have sent vibrations through the floor, but the Slime King didn't seem to notice. He was facing the other direction, and Resda and Kai could easily see the back of its beady eyes through the green fluid.

"There's a sight I didn't need." Kai retched. "How often do you sneak up on a giant blob?"

"You're right," Resda said, "something must be up." The two of them approached slowly. "Why hasn't it moved yet?"

"I'll make it move," Kai muttered in frustration, charging up a Magic Claw. She fired the spell.

It rebounded off of the Slime's membrane, waves rippling throughout its entire body. And even if it wasn't exactly according to plan, Kai got the response she wanted. It turned slowly, eyes still strangely blank - even by Slime standards.

"Back up, now!" Resda said, bounding backward while nocking two bolts. "**Double Shot!**" The shots glanced off of the Slime's unusually tough skin. "He's stronger than usual," Resda concluded as he continued to run.

The Slime King counterattacked by swinging its antenna like a giant squishy wrecking ball. It caught Resda in the chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending his crossbow flying through the air. Resda spent the next few minutes attempting to return to his feet as the Slime directed his attention elsewhere.

"Resda!" Kai cried out. She prepared a Fire Arrow, but before anything could happen the Slime spit a wad of goo from its mouth, sending it straight towards Kai. "Damn!" She readied herself to teleport, but the Slime King had already figured out how to keep her down. It jumped into the air and unleashed a stunning earthquake attack. She stumbled around just long enough for the goo projectile to cover her entirely in slime and knock her into the back wall, where she stuck to it. "No! I can't move!" she said, struggling against the thickening slime as it expanded and hardened against the wall, imprisoning her.

"They need help!" Omega said from above.

"On it," Twilight responded as he took a running leap off of the platform, blade drawn. "**Savage Blow!**" The attack did what no one else's had managed to do - pierce the Slime King's skin. But as he tried to withdraw his hand, he found that he was stuck. "The gods must have it in for me," he mumbled as he struggled.

Omega screwed up the little courage he had left as he prepared to help his new companions. "I'm coming!" Omega cried out, drawing his mythril spear. He swung it around madly, hoping to land a blow as he plummeted through the air.

"Kiai!" he yelled as his spear, too, pierced through the Slime. But soon he felt a slight suction, and the spear was wrenched from his hands into the Slime's vitreous fluids. Not long after, the Slime launched a bewildered Omega into the air. He quickly recovered and landed gracefully next to Resda, who was still winded.

"Resda, get up!" Omega poured a potion down Resda's throat, causing his strength to return. Immediately Resda's eyes observed the situation. Twilight and Kai were trapped, Resda was weakened and without a weapon - he noticed that his Arbalest was off in the corner of the room - and Omega was unlucky enough to have lost his weapon inside the Slime's body. The rational choice would be to flee. _But screw rationality, _he decided. He stood up and ran towards Kai. "Kai! I'm coming to help!"

Omega was stunned. "Be careful! You're helpless without a weapon!"

"Don't care!" Resda shouted back. He scrambled over to the far wall, trying to help Kai get loose by cutting at her bonds with a spare bolt.

_Wow,_ Omega could only think. _He's a real champion. He's still fighting to save everyone... even without his weapon,_ he added. He came to another realization. _Meanwhile I..._ he remembered back to the sudden attack, and how quickly he came to pieces after being defeated. _No._ He stood up straight. From within his bag he withdrew his other spear - the Glorious. _I have a weapon. And I'm not going to sit here anymore!_ He ran forward. "Kiai!" he cried, striking the Slime. And this time, it worked. The piercing weapon did what it was supposed to do. Omega felt renewed at this turn of events.

"Omega! You got him!" Resda cheered.

Omega pushed forward, digging his spear in deeper. With a feral look in his eye, he swept his spear through. "**Power Strike!**" When his weapon had sliced out of the Slime King's side, he swung again, this time at the ground. "**Slash Blast!**"

Resda, meanwhile, was having significantly worse luck. "This is gonna take some time, sorry," he said to Kai as he carefully worked to cut through the almost solid ooze.

Kai suddenly had an idea. "Resda, can you free my arms? That's all I need to cast a spell," she said. He nodded and got to cutting.

Omega leapt up onto the top of the Slime King, bouncing off of its skin. He sliced through the air again, severing the Slime King's antenna, where it came crashing to the floor. "Gotcha," he said.

The antenna, fortunately, seemed the source of the King's new power, as Twilight suddenly found himself able to break free of the Slime's tough skin. "Excellent," he said, rubbing his arm. "**Savage Blow!**" he yelled as he sliced through the Slime. The Slime roared - well, it made whatever sound a Slime would make while in pain - as the two of them jumped down to the ground.

At that moment, Resda's cutting finally paid off. "Step back, Resda," she said, beginning a chant. "**Fire Sphere!**" A burst of flame erupted from her, expanding all around her. When it finally vanished, Kai was standing on the floor, dry and happy.

With a quick dash, Twilight recovered Resda's crossbow and tossed it across the room. Resda caught the crossbow firmly. "Excellent," he smirked.

"Now then, let's get back to business. **Heat Wave!**" Kai chanted, and sent a blast of heat energy at her foe. The Slime reeled back as it began to liquefy. "Go!" she said, signaling the others. "**Fire Arrow!**" This time, the flame struck the Slime, leaving a burn mark on its outer skin.

Twilight crouched down, and pounced forward with amazing speed to attack. "**Savage Blow!**" he yelled, slashing through the Slime's skin multiple times. Green vitreous fluid dripped from the cuts.

Resda drew an onyx tipped bolt from his quiver. "Here goes nothing!" he said as he fired the black explosive. It exploded after piercing through the skin, causing great amounts of damage.

The Slime King readied another earth-shattering jump in retaliation, but Omega leapt after him, swinging wildly. "**Quarterstaff Cyclone!**" he said, whirling his spear full circle many times at a rapid pace. The attack slashed clear through the Slime, and it hit the ground, exploding into a brilliant shower of green goo.

"Oh boy, this is gonna be messy," Resda complained as the Slime King's remains cascaded down upon them. A particularly large green glob landed squarely on Resda's head, causing him to shudder.

"These were new, too," Kai sighed, trying to shake off the green that was clinging to her robes. "So," she said to Twilight, "You have to admit it now. Omega has to be a champion."

"Yes," Twilight said, walking back to the rope ladder, "of course he is."

Now, Resda and Kai hadn't known Twilight for long, but they could already tell when he was hiding something from them. Resda cut him off before he started climbing. "What? But you were telling him that he wasn't the champion!"

"I was merely telling him what he already knew."

Resda and Kai stared. "What?" they cried out.

Kai was fit to burst. "Don't come off all mysterious! What on earth did you mean?"

"I get it," Omega said, shaking Twilight's hand. "Thanks." Twilight started to ascend, as Omega turned back to explain.

"So, it's a self confidence thing," Kai finally comprehended it as the four of them reached the top of the hill. "Okay. But what happened that shook you that much to begin with, Omega?"

"I'd... rather not discuss it," Omega said, eyes downcast. When he looked up again, he found that Twilight had already scouted ahead.

"The portal's open now," Twilight reported. He ran his finger across the flat side of his knife. "Finally, we can finish this." The four of them entered the portal together.

"I have good news and bad news," Deianira suddenly said, looking up from her map. The trio was still hiding in the depths of Ludibrium's factory, unnoticed by the robotic workers.

Ozeku stopped polishing his sword. "Hm?"

"Let's have the bad news first," Isrim decided. "I can't feel much more depressed than right now." He had paced a circle our of boredom for so long it was a surprise he hadn't carved a ditch in the floor.

"The champions are together."

"What?" Ozeku yelled.

"All four of them?" Isrim said. He was unfazed, continuing to pace. "That was fast."

"Tell your shadow minions to kill them now!" Ozeku said, his voice raised. He gripped the hilt of his sword tighter.

"That's the good news," Deianira replied. "One of them is already nearby."

"Then there you go," Isrim said. "No big."

"Ah. I have better news," Deianira said. "Our target isn't moving around nearly as much as it was. Now would be a good time to return to Victoria."

Ozeku stood up. "We must make haste. Time is short." The three of them began to climb up to ground level.

* * *

**Quarterstaff Cyclone** - Spearman technique - Swing your spear around you, taking full advantage of its long range. Slow to start, once it gets going it is a very powerful move. As spear moves go, this one relies most on the dexterity of the user, rather than his or her strength, as a lot of agility is required to twirl a large weapon around. 

**Fire Sphere** - Fire magic - Projects a hollow sphere of flame originating from within the caster, and expanding outward to a size up to three times the caster's size. It singes everything in the area except for the user, and he or she has the ability to shoot it in a single direction before it dissipates - which it does rather quickly.

Yaay more Maple Legend! Some stuff came up, so I wasn't able to post this for a while. I actually had it written out almost in full for a while now. Sorry readers. Won't happen again. shrugs (Pff... Yeah right.)


	24. Shadow Puppetry

**Shadow Puppetry  
**

Back in the dungeon, the four heroes slipped through the portal into the final area. The air was deathly still, once again. But this time, the scene was a little different.

A horrific tableau of some thirty-odd people was before them. They all looked like they were running away, to get away from something that was no longer here. As they walked among the crowd, they were met with faces contorted with fear and confusion. No sound or movement came from their still forms, which lent itself adequately to the atmosphere. "This is... _interesting,_" Resda thought aloud.

"More like creepy," Kai responded nervously.

Omega did the obvious thing and waved his hand in front of a frozen girl's face. "They're as still as statues," he said in wonder.

"But they're alive. They have pulses – slow pulses, but they're there," Twilight determined after a few minutes.

Resda had moved to the outside of the group and begun a quick head count. "Twenty-nine, thirty..." After a moment, he announced his findings: "Thirty-six? So many..."

Kai shrieked. "Resda, you missed one..." she said, her voice trembling in fear. The others rushed over.

Before them, Cloto was on her knees, as motionless as the rest. She had an arm stretched out in front of her face to protect herself. "Gods..." Omega breathed. "What could have done this?"

"That would explain why she didn't meet us earlier," Twilight remembered. "So what are we going to do?" Twilight asked the group.

"Simple. We're going to wait here," Omega answered.

"What? Why?" Kai fidgeted around. "I don't think I want to stay here any longer than necessary."

"Well first, whoever or whatever did this isn't going to leave us alone," Resda concluded. "It seems to target groups who enter this room."

"And second... the portal just closed on us." Omega pointed to the stone arch. Everyone turned to see, and found that no glowing lights were visible.

"I knew this was a trap," Twilight said, clenching his fists.

"But we have to leave!" Kai wrung her hands.

"Maybe I can help," a voice said from behind them. The champions turned to see a orange haired female in a green toga.

Kai was relieved. "Nella, thank the gods."

"What happened?" Resda asked Nella. She lowered her head.

"I was at the entrance to the dungeon," she began. "I didn't see anyone pass by for a while, so I went looking. Then I found this..." She gestured to Cloto. "My sister... how could I have let this happen?"

"Don't worry, Nella," Resda consoled her. "We'll put a stop to this somehow."

"We promise," Omega grinned.

"Thank the gods," Nella sighed. "I'm just glad that the champions could be here to help us in this crisis."

Twilight did a double take. He looked at his companions, realizing that they had picked up on the mistake as well. "Hey, Nella..." he drew closer. "Who told you that we were the champions?" He slipped his cutter onto his arm.

"Ooh. You caught me," Nella answered, in a voice that was not her own, a dark grimace crossing her face. Suddenly, she stopped moving.

"Nella?" Omega called out, but she was as frozen as the others in the room.

"Okay, yeah, this has escalated far beyond creepy now," Kai said.

"This demands an explanation," Twilight growled. "What the hell is going on?"

"Oh, I can tell you," another, different voice said. They turned towards it, to find a thief walking towards them. "It's quite simple, really." They realized with a start that he had been paralyzed just moments before.

"What's going on here? How did you get free?"

"Free? Free from what?" Just as quickly as he had revived, he was frozen again.

The champions began scanning around. "I totally agree with Kai on this one," Resda said.

"Hey! Over here!" a third voice perked up, and the champions turned. This time, a female mage wearing a purple moonlight robe and a red hat drew her staff. "I swear; for champions, you guys are pretty ignorant!"

"How did you get here?" Twilight began, but before he could get an answer, she froze.

"This trick is getting old," said Omega. He twirled his spear once, and held it ready.

"Oh, I don't think so," said a bowman who was unfroze in between them. "I think it's quite fun." The bowman froze on the spot again.

"We want answers! What is happening to these people?" Resda asked the bowman, realizing that he wouldn't have been able to hear him anyway.

"Oh, must you spoil my fun?" Cloto suddenly woke up, complaining. "I find the whole thing exhilarating."

"Cloto!" Kai shouted. "What's going on?"

"I get it," Twilight said. "Show yourself, coward!" He yelled at no one in particular. "Whatever you're doing to these people, put a stop to it right now!"

He was met with a round of applause. All the figures clapped their hands, and slowly walked towards the outside of the area. As the crowd parted, a shadowy figure appeared in the center of the room. "Good job, champions. You figured it out. Took you long enough though."

"Who are you?" Twilight growled at the shadow.

"Call me Gheren." He bowed slightly. He had no form to speak of - he was a black cloud in the vague shape of a humanoid. The only things betraying his character were his piercing emerald eyes and smooth, oily voice. "As you can guess, I am a shadow."

"What have you done with these people?" Kai yelled at the thing that faced them. Fear was present in her voice, but she stood bravely regardless.

"Aw, I guess you don't really understand." He gestured to the people around him. "These people... are under my control."

"Why can't they move?" Omega questioned him.

"Put simply, it's because I don't want them to," Gheren answered, nonchalant. "When you control people's wills that isn't that big a deal," he added, with a grim chuckle.

"Don't make this difficult," Twilight said. "Release them, or we will defeat you!"

"Oh?" Gheren laughed again. "Are you certain?" His eyes glowed faintly as he spoke.

Omega had had enough. "That's it..." He charged. "**Power Strike!**" He swung hard, but the spear passed straight through Gheren. Omega's eyes widened in fear. "No... not this again..."

"No, your spear's working fine, Omega," Twilight corrected. "He's a shadow. He exists on a different plane - we can't touch him."

"Wanna bet?" Kai charged a Fire Arrow.

"I don't think so," the shadow replied. One of the nearby captives - a lithe woman wielding a long sword - leapt in front of the attack, no expression on her face. Kai dissipated the magic quickly, beaten.

"You bastard!" Twilight spit.

"No need to call me names," Gheren said, feigning being upset. He grinned. "Hold them."

Suddenly, all four champions were restrained, eight nearby figures jumping to life and holding their arms. Resda cursed. "Damn you, Gheren!"

"You're lucky I'm not following orders."

"Orders?" Kai repeated, confused.

"I was told to kill you on sight," he explained, "but I'm a reasonable being. I'd rather not fight you. I'm perfectly content to live out my days here." He grinned imperceptibly. "I won't kill you. In fact, I have a better idea." His eyes shone emerald. "You'd be much more useful to me as servants than corpses." The glow brightened into a flash.

"**Dark Sight!**" Twilight managed to chant. He slipped into shadow. "Shadow against shadow. Let's see how well you fight without your human shields!"

"Clever boy," Gheren said. "Although, you didn't really think that through too well." He laughed.

Twilight turned to his friends as Gheren's minions released them. To his chagrin, they were stuck fast to the positions they were in, frozen in the moment of their capture. He began seeing red. "Gheren... I'll kill you!"

Gheren grinned again. "Boy, you're outclassed." The shadow turned to face him. "You can't keep up with me in my realm... the strain on your body is too much!"

Twilight gritted his teeth. "You wish!" He ran forward.

* * *

**Dark Sight** - Rogue skill - Not exactly a new move, but this may require some explanation. 

Dark Sight allows its user to slip into another plane of existence, where only shadows can dwell. It renders the user intangible - he or she cannot touch or be touched by anything on the normal plane. However, this is not without cost to the user - a human body is not meant to exist within the plane, and as such movement is hampered greatly.

Users consciously choose to remain in the realm for as long as they want, but the longer they remain there, the harder it is to remain focused. Movement further decreases, and the overall stamina of the user drops steadily. There is, of course, a minimal wait time between turning Dark Sight on and off, so at the very least, the user must remain in the plane for a few moments.


	25. In the Mind of a Shadow

**In the Mind of a Shadow  
**

Kai awoke suddenly, her entire body feeling numb. _Where am I?_ she thought to herself. She looked around. _It's too dark to see anything. Maybe there's a clue up ahead._ She took a step.

_Clank._

The feeling returned to her arms and legs. To her horror, she realized that shackles were binding her arms and legs, preventing her from doing much more than sit down or stand up. She gasped, and struggled against the restraints for a while before giving up with a sigh.

Her eyes adjusted to the darkness. To her left and right she saw Resda and Omega, still unconscious. _Are they alright? _She opened her mouth to speak. _Omega, wake up!_ No sound came from her mouth. She put her hand over her mouth in surprise. _Gods... what's wrong with my voice?_

_Nothing,_ another voice replied. Kai looked towards the source of the... noise? She discovered a female wearing archer's armor sitting on the wooden bench across from her, hands and legs shackled to the dungeon floor. She was slumped forward, barely looking up to acknowledge Kai's presence with a half-smile.

_Who are you?_ Kai asked. _And how can you hear my thoughts?_

_Call me Miyazuki, or Miya if you prefer,_ she answered. _And we can hear each other's thoughts because, well, thoughts are the only things that exist here._

_Huh?_ Kai pondered a bit, before it finally clicked.

_Welcome to Gheren's mind._

"Rrah!" Twilight yelled in fury as he tried to cut through Gheren. But he deftly leapt away, eyes on Twilight the whole time.

"Please. You're not going to hit me." Gheren jumped backward several times to dodge Twilight's repeated assault. The battle continued on and on, and Gheren did nothing but tease Twilight as he continued to attack.

Twilight sweat bullets. _Damn it, he's right,_ he thought. _I've never maintained Dark Sight this long before. It hurts to even move!_ He bit down and launched one more attack, a stab aimed directly at Gheren's chest.

Gheren grabbed Twilight's arm and pushed him off balance, where his momentum sent him crashing to the floor. "You're kidding, right?" Gheren looked at him, cock-eyed.

"Screw you," Twilight responded, but his body betrayed his weakness. _I've only got strength for one more good attack. Let's hope he doesn't figure that out..._

Omega awakened with a groan. _Where am I?_ he asked.

_You're trapped in Gheren's mind,_ Kai answered.

_Kai? What happened? We were captured?_ Omega looked around to see countless others chained to the walls, heads bowed, bodies slacked. _Then all these people..._

_Gheren's other captives,_ Miya answered. _They're all asleep... most of them gave up hope of rescue long ago. They won't wake up unless something miraculous happens. It's the atmosphere,_ she added. _It has a way of doing that._

_Where's Resda and Twilight?_ Omega asked.

_Resda's right here, but not awake yet,_ Kai started. _As for Twilight... I don't think he got captured._

_Thank the gods for that, I guess._ Omega sighed.

_Say that name again?_ Miya suddenly said.

_Who? Twilight?_ Omega shrugged.

_No... Resda!_ He looked at the body to Kai's left side. _I thought he looked familiar, but... gods, this is terrible._

_You know him?_

_He's a good friend,_ Miya said. _We adventured a bit together. And no I'm not his girlfriend or anything like that,_ Miya snapped after seeing raised eyebrows from both Kai and Omega.

Resda finally awakened, and the four of them dealt with his initial confusion with a long-winded explanation. He suddenly realized who was sitting in front of him. _Miya, they got you too... I'm sorry._

_I've been here a while, actually, _she replied._ But it's cool. We have a lot of time to catch up now. _Miya leaned back against the wall._  
_

_Huh?_ Resda stared at her.

_Well it's not like we can escape._

_That's not like you,_ Resda contested. _You don't give up this easily._

Miya shook her fists. _Do you see these chains? We're completely disarmed and our other abilities are practically gone! How are you going to get out?_

_She's got a point,_ Kai realized. _I haven't felt any kind of magical power within me for a while... At least Twilight's still out there._

_I am not going to just sit here!_ Resda said stubbornly. And with that, he began to pull his arms forward, against the chains. _We can't be as trapped as you think we are! None of this is real!_

_Seems real enough._ Kai picked up a chain and dropped it. It hit the floor with a loud clatter.

_No, Resda's absolutely right,_ Omega suddenly realized. _This isn't a physical realm, in the usual sense. It's a mental projection. So, if our minds are stronger than his, we may be able to get out._ He closed his eyes.

_What, so we outthink him?_ Kai reasoned. _That... actually sounds like a good plan!_

_We're just normal people,_ Miya said, with a strange air of both stubbornness and resignation. _How the heck can we possibly defeat him?_ The others looked at her. She looked defeated, as if nothing could lift her spirits.

At that exact moment, Omega's chains shattered.

Resda and Kai were stupefied. _How did you do that?_ they asked him almost in unison.

_Meditation,_ Omega replied simply. _Sitting Bull made me do it all the time. Never thought it would be useful. All you've got to do is clear your head, then take in the environment around you. Once you've done that, it's easy. _He stood up. _So. How's about we get out of here?_

* * *

**Gheren's Possession** - Gheren steals your mind from your body through eye contact. At that point he can choose to take control of any number of victims' bodies as if they were puppets. They are able to speak and perform basic physical actions - such as attacking - but magical abilities cannot be used. The degree of control Gheren has also depends on the number of bodies he is controlling at once. For a single target, he can make the person speak and move normally. The ability to speak is lost at around four or five people, and by the time he gets to controlling an entire room, they can only perform rudimentary functions, such as walking. 

The victim's consciousness is stored - intact - within Gheren's own mind, for the rare occasion that he decides to let someone go. However, the human mind cannot process what it could possibly be like to exist out-of-body. So, to fix this, the victim's brains interpret the data as something corporeal and physical - a _mindscape_, if you will. (I borrowed the term from a webcomic I read. Don't criticize me.) Gheren's mindscape looks like a long, dark, dank dungeon hallway, with wooden benches along the two walls. Gheren's victims appear chained to the walls and floor, seated neatly on the benches. The oppressive atmosphere quickly dampens any thoughts of escape.

Of course, it wouldn't do to put the champions in an inescapable situation, now would it?

With enough mental facility, one could concievably break out of his or her chains. The key is to realize that nothing before you is real, in the typical sense of the word. From that point you can do whatever you want. Think "Matrix" and you'll get it.

This little arc proves time and time again to be incredibly hard to write. I hope I succeeded in writing about mind control from the victims' perspective. That and the all-italics thing is kinda annoying to do.

I've bored you enough. Thanks for reading, readers!

- Resda


	26. Breaking Free

**Breaking Free  
**

"Champion..." Gheren clicked his tongue. "I'm disappointed!" Twilight's attacks were relentless, but Gheren made short work of dodging them. "You aren't even trying anymore!"

_I know,_ Twilight thought, remaining silent. _Just gotta bide my time._

"Hmm," he continued. "I think it's my turn to attack."

"What?" Twilight said, before Gheren struck with his palm. Gheren's attack connected with Twilight's chest, and he flew back. When Twilight finally landed, he struggled back to his feet.

"You didn't think I was gonna dodge all day, did you?" Gheren replied. "I mean, sure it's great to watch you slowly kill yourself with your own technique. But sometimes it's just like watching paint dry." He shrugged.

"That... was a strong punch," Twilight said. "I'm impressed."

"Oh, you don't really mean that," Gheren grimaced. His emerald eyes were like slits now. "I must say-"

Twilight's head was pounding, and the sound of his throbbing temples drowned out all others. His body was screaming at him to release the technique. _Just a little longer,_ he told himself, but the pain did not subside. He took steps forward. As he moved, his speed increased, until he was at a full run. Gheren was still a few feet away, but the distance was closing quickly. He drew back his arm.

"So, you're using all your energy for one last attack. How dramatic." Gheren smirked. "But you still can't beat me."

The distance shortened. Twilight could feel his will giving out. The pressure of the shadows around him was finally too much. He had to return to his native realm... but he didn't. _Just a little longer..._ he repeated, almost like a mantra. Two steps separated the two of them now. He let out a mighty yell and drew the blade forward, into his target. At that moment, Twilight suddenly found himself back in the realm of light. A great weight was lifted from his shoulders, and his strength began to return.

As the blood rushed away from Twilight's head, he heard a scream of tortured pain.

_That's all there is to it,_ Omega said, stretching out and yawning. It was an unconscious action - the three of them were aware that their real bodies were still in the dungeon, frozen in place. Stretching didn't do much of anything.

_That sounds a lot like what Laine taught me about Focus,_ Resda said, before closing his eyes. He took a breath. After a few moments, the shackles around his hands and feet snapped open. He whistled. _Hey, it worked. Kai, your turn._

Miya could only watch. _There's something different about you, Resda,_ she said, narrowing her eyes. _There's this confident aura surrounding you now. Where did this come from?_ Resda chose not to reply, but the thoughts leaked out of his head, and Miya heard every last one. _You... you're the champion, aren't you?_

He sheepishly turned away from her, just as the chains binding Kai evaporated into thin air. _I'm free,_ she sighed in relief. _But... uh, now what?_

_Yeah, I was kinda expecting to be swept out of here in a beam of light or something,_ Resda thought. _Although, that never really did make sense, did it?_

_Nope,_ Omega said, once again the voice of wisdom. _We may not be captives, but we're far from free. We need to be transported out. But I've got a plan for that. Hey, Miya,_ he said, turning to her, _where are Cloto and Nella?_

Gheren yelled, his eyes widening. Twilight's arm was plunged through his chest - which was solid. "What have you done to me?" He shoved Twilight away from him and examined his wound. "You hit me!"

Twilight realized with a start that, for some reason, Gheren had returned to the corporeal realm with him. He stared down at his weapon, and was surprised to see traces of a golden glow fading from it. "Light..." he muttered. "But how..." The both of them stood in stunned silence for a few moments, trying to comprehend what had happened. But eventually the shock wore off, and Twilight was back to his smug self. "Well, Gheren, we're back on my home turf now. Let's see how you like it."

"I've still got your friends!" Gheren said, after a moment of hesitation. "Are you willing to strike them down as well-" He paused. "What's going on? Why can't I control them? What is this?"

_Of course, _Twilight smirked._ I'd imagine they'd find a way out of their predicament._ "There goes your leverage, Gheren," he teased, wiping his blade clean.

"Y-you think so?" Gheren laughed nervously. "There are still enough people here to overwhelm you! You won't win!" With another flash of his emerald eyes, Gheren introduced his new battle strategy.

_Cloto... Nella... wake up._ Nella heard the mysterious voice call to her, and she roused herself and her sister.

Cloto's eyes opened to the sight of three teenage adventurers standing in front of her. _Wait,_ she realized, _they're standing. Wha- you're free! How?_

_Don't you see it?_ Nella nudged her. _That pure aura around them... don't you know who they are?_

Cloto leaned in as far as her chains allowed. _The... the champions! _She squealed, her composure completely gone. _Oh, sister, if only Lakelis could have seen this!_

_Is there a point to hiding it anymore?_ Omega sighed, half-smiling. _People are figuring it out way too easily._

_Wait, but that means you're trapped here, too..._ Nella's voice was pained.

_Not for long._

Nella stared up at Omega. _What are you planning?_

_Can you teleport us out of here?_ he asked simply. The rest of the plan became obvious to everyone.

_Will that work?_ Kai asked Omega.

Nella answered the question. _It might, _she said, _but even so, we do not have the magical energy to perform such a teleportation._

_Unless..._ Cloto started, but stopped. Resda wordlessly pressed her on, and she finally continued. _If there is a conduit of magical energy powerful enough, and if we could draw power from it, we would be able to do it._

_I'd gladly volunteer,_ Kai said, _but I'm afraid my energy is all but gone._

_Don't worry, child,_ Cloto said. _Champion or no, a human doesn't possess nearly enough power for what we're talking about. What we need is a pure magical being. A manifestation of magic power. Like-_

_Like a sniper's Golden Eagle?_ Resda suddenly asked, his mind's gears turning.

Cloto was surprised. _Well, yes._

_Thank the gods you can hear my thoughts, because I don't feel like explaining,_ Resda said. _Miya's a sniper.__  
_

_Huh? _Miya had almost drifted off to sleep again, but snapped out of her stupor at the sound of her name.

_Summon your bird familiar! It's our best shot!_

Miya was awake this time. _I... how can I do that? How can I do anything?_ she added, her voice ever softer.

_I know you can do it,_ Resda said, trying his best to cheer her up. _We need you._

_You don't need me, you're the champions! _Miya replied, almost jealous. _Surely you can find a way-_

_We did,_ Kai interrupted. _And you're it._ She smiled at her.

Miya returned the smile. _Alright, let's see..._

_Try closing your eyes,_ Resda said, jokingly, _it seems to work for everyone else._

_You're breaking my concentration,_ Miya snapped back, before closing her eyes anyway.

Twilight's air of confidence was gone again, as he faced four silent warriors - a kunai-throwing assassin, a keen-eyed female hunter, an ice mage clad in cool blue, and a swordsman lugging a blade as tall as he was. Their weapons were raised, and they bore no expression. "I should have killed you all before," Gheren spit. "No matter." His eyes flared up, and the four sprang to life.

Twilight jumped back as the swordsman's first attack slammed into the ground. He debated putting away his dagger - _no need for it here,_ he thought. _If I'm going to attack I have to get to Gheren himself. _The assassin and hunter each launched their respective projectiles, and Twilight had to run away even further to avoid the onslaught. At that moment, the mage ran up to him to bludgeon him with his staff. _No abilities,_ Twilight saw. _Gheren's power has its limits after all._ "**Haste!**" he chanted, running past everyone to attack Gheren again. But the swordsman was there first, and quickly moved in front before Twilight could get a good strike in. "Coward!" Twilight yelled at Gheren as he leapt back again.

"Sticks and stones," Gheren chastised.

Miya was still conjuring up the magic she needed to summon the Golden Eagle. When your body is entirely drained, naturally, the process takes time. So as she worked, the others waited idly.

_I hope Twilight's doing alright,_ Omega wondered. He had sat back down on the bench and tipped his hat forward to get some rest.

_He is,_ Kai asserted. _He's a good fighter._

_Kai would know,_ Resda added. Omega raised an eyebrow. _Oh, that's right, you haven't heard the story._

_There's something between them? _Omega asked.

_Twilight and I were both attacked recently, _Kai started. _My staff was stolen and Twilight's friend Manji was almost fatally poisoned. The strange thing was... the person that attacked me looked exactly like Twilight, and Twilight's attacker looked like me. As you could probably guess, it led to a heated battle. We stopped only when Resda got injured._

_Oh dear,_ Omega responded. _Resda got involved?_

_My injury was, er, collateral damage,_ Resda chose not to explain. _Anyway, we managed to clear that up, but we still don't know where Kai's staff is, or who it was that attacked them._ Resda's voice dropped a little. _Personally, I think it was a setup. Something to drive a wedge between us. Anyway, that's what we were going to investigate before Nella volunteered us to help Lakelis out._

Conveniently enough, their story had managed to pass enough time that Miya was finally ready to summon her familiar. _**Golden Eagle!**_ Miya chanted, after a few moments. The bird arose from a ball of light and let out a wild screech. _Give your power to Cloto and Nella. They need it more than I._ The eagle flew over to them.

_Guys, get ready,_ Resda said. _If this works, we'll defeat Gheren in no time._

Cloto and Nella felt the rush of energy wash over them. _At last,_ Cloto said. _We'll transport you to the last room of the dungeon. Hopefully you will know what to do from there._

_Hey, Resda!_ Miya called out to him just as the spell began. _Good luck,_ she said quickly, as the champions were whisked away. _And thanks._

Twilight was having problems of his own - in a one-on-four matchup, and unwilling to harm his opponents, it was only a matter of time before they finally killed him. Twilight was able to dodge well enough, but every time he tried to hit Gheren, someone managed to leap in the way.

"Get him get him get him!" Gheren roared, and his four puppets seemed to move even faster. It was all Twilight could do to throw his dagger in front of their blows.

"I... need help!" Twilight said, screaming to the gods for some sort of miracle.

And, in dramatic fashion, Twilight recieved it. Arrows struck the ground at Gheren's feet, causing everyone to pause in confusion. "We're back," Resda said, as he and the others moved their way through the crowd.

Gheren turned. To his chagrin, the remaining three champions were alive and well, and their weapons were drawn. "Damn!" Gheren said, sending three of Twilight's four assailants after them.

"Gheren's solid now!" Twilight notified his team. "Hit him if you can!" When he faced forward again, only the swordsman was left in front of him. "One on one. This is more my style." With the sides a little more even, the battle began anew.

* * *

For the record, I have grown to dislike italics as a result of this formatting-heavy scene. I will never have a thought-based plotline ever again. 

More Lore!

**Lore of Maple Legend (part 2 of 3, or maybe 4)**

**Land Overview **

There are three general landmasses in the Maple world: Maple, the small floating island, Victoria, the main island, and Ossyria, the island of the towers.

_Cities_

Civilization in Victoria began in Sleepywood, and spread out through the dense forests there into the coastline. Keeping to the theme of four, a city was built in each of the four cardinal directions. As civilization advanced, it became necessary to communicate with other islands; thus, Lith Harbor was founded, on the path between Kerning and Henesys where the shoreline is safest. Early exploration led to the discovery and assimilation of Florina, a small island off the coast.

Kerning used to be a simple swamp village, but has grown to a large city, mostly as a result of its government. At all times they are trying to develop something new. The technology created there filters down to the other cities, save for Perion, due to their long standing tradition of simplicity. Here, the art of the rogue is taught.

Henesys is a fairly large hamlet - the suburb of the world, one could say. It has a bustling marketplace and a tranquil public park. Festivals are often held here due to the wide open spaces of the plains. Here young adventurers learn the art of the archer.

Perion, the mountain village, is also home to a busy marketplace, as well as the finest forges and refineries on the island. The Free Market's main base of operations is here, so people are often milling about as much as they do in Kerning. Despite all this, the town makes an effort to retain a hold on the old ways, painting their faces and living in tepees rather than houses. The tradition of the warrior is kept here.

Ellinia is a city of tranquility, nestled in the trees. Its most busy spot is the airship port - the only way to Orbis. Some visitors arrive just for the beauty and magic of the area, which is more vertical than its sister cities. The way of the magician is taught here.

_Ossyria_

Ossyria is a land full of mystery and magic, from the cloud tops of Orbis to the animated toyland Ludibrium to the Omega Sector's attempts to contact life beyond the stars, to the deep reaches of the underground below El Nath, leading to the legendary Zakum - a creature of unspeakable power and darkness.

**Society**

There is but one religion in the Maple World. It is a polytheistic tradition: four gods, one for each of the four physical elements. It has taken hold of and shaped society in ways irreversible.

The religion, as devoted as its followers are, is actually pretty lax - it merely requires a belief that the gods exist, as well as four annual rituals taking place one per season. The word "gods" is used in the vernacular as an expression of surprise, with no one taking any offense to it. Religious faith and science coexist peacefully. One tenet of the tradition is important to all aspects of their lives, however: live well with each other.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as utopia. Class prejudices are common, especially between rogues and mages. They often come into conflict with each other with little or no provocation. The people are apathetic to this situation.

In another injustice, the rogue has been labeled the thief by the uninformed masses. Since then, "thief" has stuck as the name for the class, and the real name has fallen out of use.

Worse, there are a few people who yell at others simply because they are invading their space. Known as "map hogs" by some, these people have attained a kind of groove in their training, and do not wish it disturbed. The people who have this mentality are looked down upon by the rest of society.

Of course, the good balances out the bad, so the world is generally at peace.

Chances are, there are a few errors in my conversion of the Maple Story world into the world of my story. If you notice anything particularly interesting - or just plain wrong - message me.

Thanks and keep reading!

- Resda


	27. The Ace in the Hole

**The Ace in the Hole  
**

Kai immediately resumed her role of party strategist. "Hold them off, but don't hurt them too bad! They're still human after all! **Flame Wall!**" The shield she summoned up incinerated the salvo of arrows her opponent had fired.

"Easy for you to say," Resda grumbled, firing off a few more Soul Arrows while avoiding the assassin's stars. "Couldn't I fight, say, the swordsman?"

"He'd take you down easy," Twilight replied, as his handheld blade clashed with the warrior's gigantic sword. Twilight strained against the puppet's increasing force, before he managed to activate Haste and slip out from underneath his crushing blow.

"I'll come and help you if you want, Twilight," Omega said, sweeping the floor with his spear. His mage opponent moved in a very un-magelike way under Gheren's control, sidestepping the assault like the most adept of warriors. He twirled his staff in the air and swung at Omega, who brought up his weapon to deflect the attack. "My opponent isn't really hitting me all that hard."

Gheren's eye twitched. "Would you stop bantering and die already?" he yelled in frustration.

"**Heat Wave!**" Kai chanted. The blast of energy pushed her opponent to the floor, but she immediately got back up and fired another arrow. Kai teleported behind her, and tried to lock her arms in place with her staff, but the archer extricated herself easily. "Damn it, this isn't working!"

Resda jumped into the air and nocked two bolts. "**Double Shot!**" he said as he fired, knocking two of the assassin's kunai out of the sky. "**Power Knockback!**" he chanted as he neared his opponent, and he swung his crossbow at him. The assassin slid across the floor before falling backwards. "Gotcha!" Resda prepared to fire a Soul Arrow into Gheren, but the assassin managed to get in the way again. Resda cursed under his breath and put up his crossbow to deflect the incoming knives.

"This might be a little painful," Twilight said as he removed the Nazo from his hand. The swordsman swung, but Twilight easily stepped through his long slow swing. He landed a fierce punch straight into his gut. Any normal man would have collapsed. But, the swordsman did not even flinch. He continued to stare emptily into Twilight's eyes, resuming his attack once more.

"You don't think that you can really defeat them, do you?" Gheren cackled, content to keep his hands clean. "They have no will of their own. They do not feel pain. They don't feel anything," he added afterwards.

"**Power Knockback!**" Resda yelled, sending the assassin flying again. He found his opening. "**Double Shot!**" Resda chanted, firing two more bolts at Gheren. Unfortunately, Gheren managed to turn in the nick of time to see them coming, and sent the two nearest bodies after them.

Omega suddenly turned to the others, an look of epiphany on his face. "Did you notice that?" he asked his companions.

"I can't really notice anything right now," Kai shot back as she teleported through a salvo of arrows.

"Our opponents slowed down," he observed. "Just for a little while, when Gheren took control of those two guys."

"Gheren's power has limits," Twilight told them. "If you hadn't noticed, they can't use their combat skills. Maybe there's also a limit on how many people he can control at once."

"Well there has to be some way to take advantage of that," Resda said, as the assassin regained his footing and was back on the attack.

"I've got it!" Twilight broke away from his opponent, taking off at a full run around the arena. "**Flash Illusion!**" As his speed increased, he started to weave around the battling groups. Twilight's form shimmered, and as he ran it almost seemed as if there were hundreds of him running around.

Gheren was surprised. "He's too fast... I have to stop him!" Immediately more of the crowd sprang to life and tried to grab a hold of him.

That's it, get distracted, Twilight smiled, running even faster. He swerved out of the way of oncoming bodies.

The other champions grinned as their opponents stopped moving entirely. Kai drew her arms back, aiming at the shadow. "**Fire Arrow!**" she chanted, launching a stream of flame. It exploded upon striking Gheren's body, and he roared, mostly out of surprise.

"So, you want to be tricky like that, huh?" Gheren's voice betrayed a bit of fear - no one had ever gave him this much opposition before. He walked backwards until he stumbled on a loose stone.

"We've defeated everything you've thrown at us, Gheren," Omega replied.

Gheren suddenly drew himself up. There was one plan left, after all. "Everything, you say? Oh, I don't think so." He snapped his fingers, and a female bandit stepped forward. She drew her blade. "I have an ace in the hole."

Meanwhile, in a much brighter, sunnier place, the three dark ones, Deianira, Isrim, and Ozeku, faced a different kind of problem.

"What do you _mean_, 'the boats broke down'?" Deianira growled. Her glare could have cut glass.

Ludibrium's ticketing usher cowered under Deianira's stare. "Please, bear with us." She tried her best to calm Deianira down while remaining calm herself. "There are a few... _technical glitches_ in the system. They'll take some time to resolve."

"This is outrageous!" Ozeku roared.

Isrim sighed. "There had better be a really good reason for this."

"We understand your concern," the usher replied. She addressed Deianira and Ozeku. "You are VIP's among our travel service, however. The moment a ship is available, we will send for you, and there will be a private airship waiting for the two of you and your... ah, guest." She averted her gaze - Isrim was not exactly a welcome sight to see, and the black gauze wrapped around his head did nothing to ease the tension. "Please, try to enjoy yourselves until then." She then turned her attention to other things, leaving the three of them to themselves.

"Well, this is great," Ozeku grumbled as they left the dock. "I say you should teleport us straight to Lith, Deianira."

"No, we can't do that," Isrim protested. "The less attention we attract, the better. The champions know nothing about us, but if we did anything fancy the Wise Men would be on to us faster than anything. We have to travel incognito." He grinned suddenly. "Now, what's the story? Why are you two getting such special treatment?"

"Well, you see, what happened was..." Ozeku tried to explain.

"Our boat was under attack, so we defended it," Deianira summarized. "Those Balrogs had no chance."

"I see," Isrim teased. "So, you guys are heroes."

"Please, do not put it that way," Ozeku said.

"Oh, don't be that way! And it's not like I'm complaining. We get our own ship, free? That's service!"

"Either way," Deianira said with a sigh, "we'll have to stay here. So we'd better make ourselves comfortable; we could be here a while." With that, the trio headed for a hotel to check in.

Back in the dungeon, the champions were nonplussed. Gheren's "ace in the hole" was not too impressive in their opinion. "This again?" Resda said, almost with an air of derision. The champions took another step forward. But suddenly, the bandit held the knife to her bare arm. The champions' eyes widened as they saw what took place next.

The bandit, without flinching, made a small incision in her own arm. Blood trickled from the wound, running across the blade. The champions all gasped in horror as Gheren cackled madly. "None of you make a move or you will be witnesses to a ritual suicide!"

"You bastard!" Twilight said, ready to rush at Gheren. He hesitated when the bandit plunged her knife a little deeper in the wound.

"I don't think so," Gheren chastised him, full of confidence now that he had managed to regain his dominance. Twilight relented, beaten. "That's much better. Unfortunately, our little victim here is oblivious to what's going on. She can't feel a thing." Gheren's eyes brightened as the champions awaited his next move with apprehension. "You know, though, I could change that." His eyes flashed, and the captive girl blinked.

She stood firmly in place; Gheren had not relinquished any motor control, so she was unable to move. However, she was able to speak... and scream. A bloodcurdling cry of terror escaped her lips as she felt her own knife twist into her skin, unable to stop it, nor even to look down at it. The champions were frozen in shock.

"And you know what they say... the more, the merrier!" Gheren's eyes flashed again, and the entire room filled with startled voices.

"What's going on?"

"There's some girl in the middle of the area and she's stabbing herself with a knife!"

"What? Why isn't anyone stopping her?"

"Ooh," Gheren raised an eyebrow (well, if he has any) at the last comment. "'Why isn't anyone stopping her?' Good one. Why don't you answer that one, champions?" He began laughing uncontrollably.

"Oh gods!" Kai was at a loss. No one had seen this coming... it seemed so... heartless. The champions shared her sentiments. They wanted to tear Gheren limb from limb, but with the situation as it was, it was impossible to even contemplate it.

"Resda!" a voice piped over the din. "What are you doing? Why are we outside again?"

"Miya! Stay calm! We've got this under control!" Resda lied.

"Please, you must stop him before he does this to more people!" Cloto and Nella screamed together, unable to lift a finger to help. Other voices clamored in agreement, and the volume continued increasing. Omega put his hands over his ears, unable to take the sound pressing in on them from all sides. The others visibly trembled at the chaos that surrounded them.

"Ooooh, what fun!" Gheren grinned darkly. "Do you see now? I am in full control!" he boasted.

"No! Stop!" Kai pleaded. She gripped her staff tightly.

"Stop? Why should I? You were the ones who came barging in here, trying to ruin my fun!" Gheren snapped. With another flash from his eyes, everyone was instantly silenced. Gheren put a hand to his chin and rubbed it, pointing at Resda with the other hand. "Now... which one of my toys called you by name?"

Resda dropped his crossbow.

"You called her... Miya, correct?"

Omega, Twilight, and Kai eyed Resda nervously as he began to break down. "No... NO!!! You can't do that!" Resda screamed at the top of his lungs, halfway between commanding him and pleading with him.

"Ah, here she is," Gheren said after a moment. Miya stepped forward, drew a crossbow bolt from her quiver and held the point against her wrist. Her face showed no emotion or life as her body moved on Gheren's orders. "You know, if you cut deep enough, you can sever the important muscles of the wrist," he informed them. "I wonder what your Miya would say to you if I made it so she could never use her hands again."

Resda fell silent, staring at the unfathomable scene before him. His eyes began to water. _Gods... what have we become a part of?_ he thought. _Is this what the champions have to do?_ Soft whimpers issued from his pursed lips.

"That sounds like surrender to me!" Gheren grimaced. The champions were frozen again, this time not by Gheren's power, but by a force much more potent.

* * *

I'm curious... should I use horizontal rules to divide up scenes within the chapter? A fast reader might miss the little section with Deianira, Ozeku and Isrim that I put above. But I find it much more comfortable for me to simply lead into each scene with a word like "meanwhile" or things of that ilk. When you review, please tell me what you think about that issue. 

Thanks for reading (again)! - Resda


	28. Resistance

You may be asking yourselves, "Why is Resda updating so quickly? Has something super fantastically amazing happened? Well, the answer is: no. (In fact, it's been pretty much the opposite, but that's a story for another time.) The reason for this amazing increase in productivity is that I've still got stuff prewritten from my old version of Maple Legend. The well's gonna run dry soon, though, and I'll be back on my own steam soon. (That means fewer updates, kids.)

Have I mentioned how much I love the opportunity that FanFiction dot net has given me? 'Cause I do. (Except when there are things that I should theoretically be doing first.)

* * *

**Resistance**

Twilight, Omega, Kai, and Resda stood in the center of the room. Resda was still numb with shock, and his eyes were cast downward. The others glared angrily at Gheren, who now had two hostages before him - a bandit who was sticking a knife into her own arm, and Miya, who threatened to render her hands useless with an arrow. Gheren chuckled lightly at the situation. Control was his game, after all.

"You won't get away with this," said Kai. "We'll stop you."

"I'd like to see you try," Gheren replied. "But seriously... I'm all for fair play-"

Twilight cut him off. "This is FAIR?"

Gheren contemplated it a moment, and simpered. "I suppose you're right. But, in the interests of civility, I have a proposition for you."

"Like we'd accept any deal of yours!" Omega spat.

"No, I implore you. This will be worth your while." Gheren paused for a moment. When the champions had no response, he continued. "I can open up a path to the dungeon exit. If you leave through it now, I promise that everyone will remain unharmed."

"Everyone including yourself," Kai hissed, her voice filled with venomous hatred.

"That's kinda the point," he replied flatly. "Of course, there is another option. If you do not leave, I'll kill you. And you'll do it without resisting, either. Otherwise..." he patted Miya on the head, as if she were a pet. The act served to enrage the champions further. "These two lovely ladies will kill themselves."

"Why do you want to let us go?" Twilight's eyes narrowed.

"I should explain myself, shouldn't I?" Gheren shrugged his shoulders. "As I told you before, my mission is to destroy you. What I have failed to mention is that there are three others, shadows like myself, with the same task. The four of us were summoned here to serve someone else's whims." He clenched his fists. "But I don't like being controlled. No one tells me what to do."

"Ironic," Omega commented, coldly.

"Say what you will. But I don't want to fight you. Otherwise you'd be dead now."

Kai scoffed. "I don't think so."

"Well, I don't really care about the outcome. I'd rather avoid this little mess... which of course, brings us back to my offer. I'll give you a moment to discuss it amongst yourselves. And don't worry, no one is listening in." He grinned again, and left them, apparently to take a victory lap around the large dungeon room. Miya and the bandit remained, as reminders of just what consequences their decision might have.

Omega, Kai, and Twilight turned to each other. "He's getting overconfident," Twilight started. "If we're going to attack, we have our opportunity."

Omega took a look at Resda, who was still unresponsive, lost in his own thoughts. "I have the distinct impression that Resda will not be so willing to fight."

"Fighting's our only option. We will not retreat and leave these people as his slaves. We have the greater good to think about." Guilt filled her soul as she spoke. "But we need a plan first."

"The first step would be to disarm Gheren's two hostages," Omega reasoned.

"Not exactly," Twilight argued. "There's nothing stopping him from taking another hostage from the crowd. We have to attack him first."

"But unless we can kill him in one strike, then he's going to make them kill themselves," Kai thought aloud. "We'd have to do both simultaneously, which he's not going to let us do."

Resda, meanwhile, was still staring into Miya's blank eyes. _It was so long ago, but it almost seems like yesterday... she went out of her way to help me train. She was always so much stronger than me. And now Gheren has her reduced to this..._ Resda looked deeper into her eyes. _Is this my fate as a champion? I didn't even want this... and now Miya's life is in danger. _He looked up to the dungeon ceiling. _Gods... if you've never listened to me before, please hear me out now. I need some kind of sign. What am I supposed to do?_

And then, for a single fleeting moment, Resda noticed a small flash of determination fill Miya's eyes.

It was brief, and it was dim, but it was there. And that only meant one thing. _Miya's resisting! And... we helped her do that,_ he realized. _It was thanks to her that we escaped. I can't let that sacrifice be in vain! _He hesitated. _But I can't do it alone..._

Twilight put a hand on Resda's shoulder, which made him jump a bit. "Resda, are you with us?" he asked, as calmly as possible.

_Of course,_ Resda thought to himself. _I'm not alone. It's like what Judith told me as I left Henesys... _He turned around to face the others. "I'm here."

"You... feeling alright?" Kai said with concern.

"All of this is a bit overwhelming," Omega said, trying to sympathize.

"No, I'm fine now. Just a little crisis of faith." Resda smiled a little, despite the situation. "So, what's the plan?"

"We don't have one," Twilight answered.

"We have to disarm both hostages and defeat Gheren at the same time," Kai explained.

"A tall order, to be sure," Omega added. "Gheren's tactics have us in a bind."

"We can do this," Resda said. "I mean, Miya's trapped, and she's still able to resist."

"She's trying to resist Gheren's control?" Kai said, shocked.

"Yeah. For a moment, her eyes..." The word struck a chord for some reason, and Resda's mind lingered on it. Finally, it hit him. "Wait a minute. Eyes! That's it!"

"What's it?" Twilight asked.

Resda smiled. "Gheren's power requires eye contact to work!"

"That's right," Omega thought. "Whenever he takes control of someone, his eyes flash!"

"Well, that's a start," Kai said. "So all we have to do is exploit that flaw."

"Easy enough... we just have to blind him," Resda thought.

"An explosion might do the trick. All that light and smoke will keep him busy long enough." Twilight turned to Resda. "What happened to those onyx arrows that Sophia made?"

"I've got them here," Resda answered, pulling one out of the quiver for show.

Omega shook his head. "Exploding arrows... as useful as those are, I don't think Gheren will give you a chance to load it."

"Twilight was on the right track," Kai suddenly added. "And I've got the solution. Here's the plan." The others gathered closer to hear what she had to say.

Resda immediately objected. "That's too risky!"

"But you're the only one with the speed and range to pull it off," Kai argued. "Twilight and Omega will be busy anyway, and I won't have time to prepare another spell."

"It's a blind shot. And then if I miss, I might hit someone behind him."

"All you have to do is wound him. Don't aim for the kill. If you can strike him, we can finish him together." Kai continued to dismantle Resda's reasoning.

"It's a real long shot," Omega said, "Pun not intended."

"Resda will have a moment to set up the shot. Error is minimal. This should work," Twilight analyzed.

"Either way," Omega added, "it's the only plan we've got. And Gheren's coming back."

"Let's go," Kai said. She gripped her staff and began muttering under her breath.

"Guess there's no turning back," Resda said nervously.

Gheren returned from his leisurely walk. "So, have you come to a decision about my proposal?"

Twilight spoke up first. "Your proposal makes sense. There's no reason for us to stay."

"If we died here trying to save them, the entire universe would feel the repercussions," Omega added, playing his part to the letter.

"Yes, you don't want that, do you?" Gheren nodded.

"However..." Resda cut him off before he could continue. "We have another responsibility. Your actions are killing these people. We won't stand for it."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Gheren said. "What about your female companion? What does she say?"

"One word," Kai said, a sly grin on her face, "**Smokescreen.**"

"What?" Gheren said as smoke quickly filled the room. "I can't see!" He twirled around wildly, trying to regain his bearings.

"Now!" Kai yelled.

"**Steal!**" Twilight said, projecting his image through the smoke towards Miya and relieving her of her arrow.

Omega ran towards the female bandit, and pinned her to the floor with his spear. "Resda! Take the shot!"

"Damn it," Resda muttered to himself. He nocked a bolt. "This should be easy. Just think about Laine's lesson. I just need to concentrate-"

"Resda! The smoke is clearing! Hurry!" Kai said.

"**Arrow Blow!**" Resda decided. His bolt flew through the air with authority. It cut through the smoke with a whipping noise. _That's it!_ he thought. The smoke cleared, and the results of Resda's shot were clearly visible.

Resda saw it, but couldn't believe it.

_We're doomed._

Gheren smirked. Miya had reached forward to snatch the bolt out of the air a split second before it would have reached its target. "That was a rash decision, champions. Although I didn't really put it past you." Miya's grip on the bolt remained firm as she raised her hand upward, ready to plunge it into her heart. "Perhaps an object lesson is in order."

"Miya! No!" Resda cried out. But her arm came down.

"It's too late!" Gheren screamed.

But suddenly, Miya stopped mid-swing. Everyone stared in silence as she stood there, unresponsive.

"What is going on?" Gheren said.

Resda breathed an internal sigh of relief and cracked a smile. "She's resisting, Gheren."

"NO! I am in control!" Gheren's eyes flashed again, concentrating all his power on her alone. Miya's arm began to tremble. Her struggle against Gheren's will was apparent now. But as her arm lowered, it appeared that she was losing.

"Miya! You can beat this!" Resda cheered her on. "Please! You have to!"

"Come on!" Omega and Kai added, not caring whether or not she could hear them.

Miya's arm finally gave way after an eternity of struggling. "Miya!" Resda cried, in an effort to stop her. But Miya kept going. The arrow made a sickening noise as it pierced its target. "Gods!" he gasped, unable to find any other words to say. The other champions' eyes opened wide.

"So. What do you think now?"

* * *

**Smokescreen** - Fire/Poison magic - If you don't know what this does by its name, then I may have to ask Kal if I can borrow his scalpel. 

Note: This is perhaps the only time you will see the bandit's Steal technique have a genuine use. Cherish this moment and remember it forever.

- Resda


	29. Pursuit

**Pursuit**

Judith brushed a lock of copper-colored hair from her eyes as she walked briskly along the winding road. The twisted path was known by travelers as the "L Forest", and it was infamous for being very difficult to cross. But Judith knew it well - she traveled quickly and lost no time at forks in the path.

_I wonder what Resda's up to right now,_ she thought as she walked. _I hope I can catch up to him before he leaves again. This is the best lead I've had._ She quickened her pace.

Suddenly, the ground shook violently as a loud crash echoed through the woods. Judith stumbled a little, but recovered quickly. Immediately she scanned the area, seeking out the source of the noise. "What was that?" she asked aloud.

Her search didn't last long; as she spoke, a large silver robot with red trim crashed through the trees and lumbered onto the path. Its mechanical eyes spotted Judith. "LOCK-ON-CONFIRMED" the robot's speakers blared, as it began its slow march towards her.

"A Master Robo?" Judith said, unsheathing her bow and pulling the string taut. "Must be a leftover from a Summoning Bag. Eh, I'll just stay back and ping away at it until-"

Her monologue was interrupted by two more loud crashes behind her. From the trees, four more Master Robos appeared. "LOCK-ON-CONFIRMED" they stated in robotic, monotoned unison.

"Five on one? Hardly fair. But I don't have time to deal with you!" She quickly drew an arrow from her quiver and concentrated her power. "**Arrow Blow!**" The arrow, suffused with her energy, left her bow with extreme force, hitting the Master Robo directly in front of her. It fell over, and Judith jumped over it, starting to run down the path.

Without warning, another pair of Master Robos bust through the trees, locking on to Judith immediately and cutting her off. "If I ever find the guy who used that bag, I'll tear him limb from limb!" She turned around to see that the Master Robo she attacked was upright again. Soon she was surrounded by seven Robos. "Assuming I get out of here, that is," she added.

"Here we go," she said, nocking another arrow. A swirling white ball of energy formed at its tip. "**Trick Shot!**" she chanted. The arrow struck the Robo in front of her and bounced back the way it came. Judith ducked under the arrow and let it continue on its wild flight path. It hit two more of the Robos before flying off into the trees. The robots that were struck now had large dents in their chestplates.

"RETALIATION-INITIATED" the robots chirped. They started running a little faster, and tried to punch Judith with their claw hands.

Judith tried her best to avoid the attack, but since she did not have an opening to get in any more shots, the Robos eventually wore her down. "I'm getting overwhelmed," Judith panted as a Robo's attack left a new welt on her skin. "How am I getting out of this?"

Suddenly, the solution appeared. "**Arrow Bomb!**" a voice called out from the treetops. A crimson arrow sailed into the Robos' range and exploded as it hit the floor. The force of the explosion turned two of the Robos into scrap metal and managed to stun the rest.

"Nice shot!" Judith called upwards. "Mind giving me a hand?"

"No problem," the male voice said. He jumped out of the tree, landing inside the circle behind Judith. His black cloak flowed like water around him as he prepared to attack. "I'll take on the three in front of me. You want the other two?"

"I can handle two. **Arrow Blow!**" Judith replied without turning to look at the newcomer. She shot several arrows at one of the Robos. One of them finally passed through the tough outer armor and pierced the mechanical heart, destroying it instantly.

"I see," the mysterious stranger noted as he fired several arrows in quick succession. The three Robos in front of him were quickly downed.

"One to go! **Trick Shot!**" Taking careful aim, Judith hit a tree to the side of the remaining Robo. It bounced off the tree, and struck the monster before careening off towards another tree. It ricocheted around and hit the Robo several times before the creature finally fell, deactivated.

"Nice work with that Trick Shot," the male archer replied. "I could never get mine to work out that well."

"Yeah, Helena says I have a gift. Uh, thanks, by the way," she said as they finally came face-to-face with each other. "Do I know you?"

"Probably not," the archer said.

"No, I remember you! You were with Resda and Laine a couple of days ago!" Judith extended a hand. "You're Hawk, right?"

"You must have been that girl who was with Helena, then." Hawk took her hand and shook it. "Yeah, I'm Hawk."

"My name's Judith." The two of them sat against a nearby tree to rest a bit - Judith had used more techniques than she expected to need. "Thanks again."

"It was nothing," Hawk replied. "Where are you headed?"

"Kerning," Judith answered. "I'm trying to meet up with..." She stopped, remembering Hawk's hostility towards Resda last time. "... someone."

"You don't have to tell me. You're looking for Resda." Judith gasped a little, but Hawk put up a hand. "Don't be surprised."

Judith twiddled her thumbs. "Hawk, I don't know what Resda did to make you so angry. But please, you don't have to fight him."

"That isn't your concern," Hawk intoned. His voice sounded less friendly than before.

"Of course it's my concern, my friend is involved," she argued.

Hawk smirked. "Just 'friends'? Nothing else?"

"Wh-what?" Judith flushed. "What are you talking about?"

"It's easy enough to spot," Hawk shrugged. "And you're being so protective of him."

"You're just... just changing the subject!" Judith's face was a deep red.

"Alright, alright!" Hawk said, waving her off. "I apologize."

"Fine, apology accepted," Judith said. "Now, what happened between you two?"

"He took my job," he replied. "I should have been champion."

Judith did a double take at first. "You don't actually think he did that on purpose, do you?"

"That isn't my point. That day, I lost most of my life." Hawk's eyes darkened as Judith's brow furrowed. "Not just because of the Black Orb. Every day, I worked for hours, hoping the honor of becoming the champion would be mine. And then, some clueless upstart suddenly sweeps in and takes it from me!"

"That 'clueless upstart' is my friend," Judith snapped. "Do not talk about him that way."

"I apologize again," Hawk said, perhaps less earnestly than before.

"And besides, the champion isn't selected. It was his destiny to become the champion, whether or not he wanted it. You can't hold him responsible for that."

"You don't understand. My honor is at stake!" Twilight almost screamed.

"No, _you_ don't understand. The world is at stake!" Judith countered, leaving Hawk speechless.

Hawk looked off into the distance in silence for a while. Judith stood up to leave. "Wait," Hawk said after a moment. "There are more Master Robos further down the path. I'll escort you."

Judith's eyes narrowed. "You just want to find Resda," she said.

"If I said I didn't, I'd be lying," Hawk admitted.

She sighed. "Promise me that you won't hurt him."

He looked up and to the left. "I can promise that I'll at least talk to him first."

"Fair enough," she said, and the two sealed their deal with a handshake. The two of them proceeded into the sunset, towards Kerning City.

"You know, Resda's lucky to have a girl like you."

"Shut up."

* * *

Yay! 

**Trick Shot** - Hunter technique - Wind energy forms around the tip of the arrow, preventing it from piercing a target and instead imparting a powerful force upon impact. This force is enough to both damage the target and send the Trick Shot bouncing away, as it it were a beam of light striking a mirror. To use the shot effectively without striking yourself with it requires either a lot of training, or a knack for geometry and physics.

I mentioned Wind energy. This would be a perfect segue into speaking about magic! Techniques will come later.

**Lore of Maple Legend (Part 3 of however many parts this needs)**

_Magic_

To first understand the skills and techniques of the land of Maple, one must first have elementary knowledge of the way magic works. Basically, magic is subdivided into light magic and dark magic. Both sides can tap into the four elements of fire, earth, water, and wind, with different effects. Light magic and dark magic can also be used in their pure forms - which results in either healing spells or powerful dark energy spells.

_Light Magic_

Light magic is significantly easier to use, requiring only the expenditure of one's own magic energy. As a result, even the nonmagical classes can use it, either by channeling it through their weapons or with the aid of one's own life energy. Mages, however, learn how to handle its raw form and mold it into the skills they need. Clerics, especially, learn how to use light magic directly, while the elemental mages usually transmute light magic into an elemental form.

_Dark Magic  
_  
Dark magic requires both magical energy and a large investment of life energy. The use of life energy as a material component makes the spells much more powerful. The dark earth magics, for example, allow the user to turn a helpless victim into a stone statue or summon choking stone tendrils from the ground. The dark fire magics rely on wanton destruction and incineration, while the dark water and wind magics can create violent destructive storms.

Pure dark magic is largely unheard of. Even if it did exist, the sheer amount of energy required to even think of casting the spell would be too much for one person to bear.

People that use the dark magics are often driven to their own demise; regardless there are some radicals proposing a balanced curriculum of light and dark magic, to preserve the balance of the world. For these, even the term "dark" is viewed as a misnomer, because of the connotations associated with the word.

Unless this belief in balanced magic settles with Hines, however, it is unlikely to happen. He asserts that the dark magics are too dangerous, and refuses to teach them. The dark spells, however, still exist, much to his chagrin.


	30. Triumph

**Triumph**

"So. What do you think now?" The champions did not respond, and instead stood in complete and utter shock.

Blood trailed down Miya's arm and dripped off of her elbow. Her eyes were as empty as before.

But her lips were curled in an unmistakable smile. "What do you think now? _Gheren?_" Miya's voice issued from her lips. She was still under his control, but in some sense, she had managed to regain her dominance.

Gheren could not hear her over his own painful scream. Miya had managed to wrench control away from him long enough to jab the arrow into his right eye, where it leaked blood and fluids at an unnaturally high pressure. "GODS!!!" he screamed into the air. "I'm blind! I'm BLIND!"

"Gods..." Twilight could only watch in shock.

"Miya... are you in there?" Resda took a step closer.

Miya did not respond bodily. Instead she spoke again. "If you want to finish him, now is your chance." Suddenly, her body froze. Gheren shoved her down to the floor, where she remained in her pose.

"That... that bitch!" Gheren had had the sense to release Miya's body, hiding her consciousness deep within his mind again. He clutched the right side of his face in his hands. "I'll kill her!" Gheren abandoned any kind of plan he had. He lifted a foot into the air and prepared to bring it down hard, into Miya's skull.

The champions sprang into action. "You're finished, Gheren! **Savage Blow!**" Twilight tore into him with incredible speed, his blade cutting through seven times.

Gheren turned to defend, but as soon as Twilight moved away, Omega was in range. "**Power Strike! Final Attack!**" Omega's first strike was followed up by a second, far more powerful one, fueled by Omega's mana.

Gheren tried to bring another body to his aid, but failed. His right eye was rendered useless, and the pain made it more difficult to focus. He scrambled to his feet as quickly as his body would let him. "I surrender! I surrender!" he screamed in fear.

"You've harmed too many people, Gheren!" Kai created a flaming bow and prepared to fire. "**Fire Arrow!**"

"**Iron Arrow!**" Resda followed up. He shot a bolt through Miya's spell and set it ablaze. The rotation of the bolt intensified the heat of the flames surrounding it. It cleaved through Gheren's chest and into the outer regions of the dungeon room. Gheren collapsed to the floor with a loud thud.

"It's over," Omega sighed, adjusting his gloves. "We won."

"But what about the others?" Kai suddenly realized. "How come they aren't free yet?"

Resda walked over to one of the victims. Putting a hand to the person's neck, he checked for any sign of life. "Nothing's changed. They're still alive, but they can't move. Did... did we make a mistake?" Resda's eyes widened. "What if they can't get free? What if..."

"Don't drop your guard," Twilight said, his gaze still on Gheren. "He's not dead."

"Of course... I'm not... dead..." Gheren said weakly. "You can't expect to kill me with that, can you?"

The champions gasped. "What do you mean?" Kai asked.

"You really are pitiful," Gheren coughed. "Your attacks are superficial at best. These wounds will heal. And soon."

"What?" Omega yelled.

"Only light can destroy shadow." Gheren laughed mirthlessly. "And none of you seem to possess that power within you. Twilight came close, but it wasn't enough." As he spoke, his voice became stronger. "And soon... I'll have regenerated enough that you won't be able to stop me!"

_Light?_ He remembered the attack he had used to defeat Hawk so long ago. _Maybe... that attack... _Resda nocked a bolt. "No." He aimed at Gheren. "This ends now." He fired.

The crossbow bolt whizzed through the air, until suddenly, it struck its target. Nothing happened. "Have you learned nothing?" Gheren laughed. "You can't kill me like that." As he slowly drew himself up, his form shimmered for a moment. 

"What?" Resda was taken aback. "But that was supposed to be a light arrow..."

"Resda?" Omega looked at him. "What are you saying?"

"I've done it before... but why can't I do it now?"

Meanwhile, Gheren was pushing up against the floor, trying to get up. Twilight drew his blade and rushed to attack him again. "Savage Blow!"

"Hah, fool." The attacks passed right through Gheren, even as he struggled to his feet. "I've returned to my own realm. You can't hit me." He finally was on his feet, more or less intact. He had a hand over his right eye. "It's over, champions. You've lost."

"You didn't rule out magic! **Fire Arrow!**" Kai launched a flaming arrow at the shadow. But just as quickly, another mage jumped in the way. The spell hit him and he was knocked backwards to the floor.

Gheren's working eye flashed, and suddenly the entire room was alive. They walked like zombies toward the champions. As they got close, they began reaching out to the champions, ready to pull them down and tear them apart. "I'm not taking any chances this time," Gheren said.

The bodies came at them from all sides. Omega tried to push against the wall of bodies coming at them with his spear, but it was a battle he could not win. "**Hyper Body!**" he cast, trying to delay what was to come. "How are we going to get through?"

"**Flame Wall-**" Kai attempted to cast, but as Gheren's captives reached towards her to strike her, her concentration was broken. "I can't stop them!"

Twilight swore repeatedly as his room to move grew smaller and smaller. "We're trapped! Someone do something!"

Resda struggled to keep his crossbow aimed at Gheren. "This isn't right!" he yelled. "This has to end now!" He managed to slip another bolt into firing position. "STOP!" He fired again, almost blindly.

All eyes were on the bolt as it suddenly glowed with a golden light. As it flew, it was all Gheren could do to bring his hands in front of him and cower in terror. The bolt struck him, then began to glow even brighter. "No! How did you use that attack!" he yelled as the light from the bolt became blinding.

"Just lucky, I guess." Resda inwardly breathed a sigh of relief as the bodies all around them collapsed to the floor.

"You... you will pay! My brothers will avenge me!" The light filled the room, and when it faded, Gheren was gone.

"That attack..." Kai blinked. "How did you do that?"

"What was it?" Omega asked.

Resda felt like a spectator. "I don't know. I can't figure it out."

As they spoke, voices began to fill the room. People collapsed on top of each other began to look around, confused. A few heated arguments started between male and female adventurers who just happened to fall on top of each other. Two particularly masculine fellows almost got into a fist fight after waking up in the same situation, much to the enjoyment of those around them.

"It's kinda refreshing to hear all of this noise," a voice sighed from out of sight. The champions turned to see Cloto and Nella smiling behind them.

"Then it worked," Kai said, ecstatic. "Thank the gods."

"We should be thanking you, champions," Nella answered. "Your efforts managed to save us all."

"Where's Miya?" Resda asked his companions, his concern for his friend far outweighing everything else.

"You try looking behind you?" Miya answered. Resda turned and ran straight towards her, embracing her with every ounce of strength he had. "Gods, Resda, slow down! People might get ideas!"

Resda let go. "Sorry, I'm just glad you're alright."

"Me too. I'm just sorry I missed the last fight though... you must have done great!"

"I guess so..."

Twilight sidled over to the two of them as Cloto and Nella walked off. "So, Resda... This your girlfriend?"

Miya was quick to slap Resda in the back of the head. "I told you not to give them any ideas." She turned to Twilight, who was immediately joined by Omega and Kai. "Besides, he's taken."

"Oh?" Omega teased.

"Yeah. Her name's Judith," Miya laughed. "They've been inseparable since... I don't know, since before I met them."

"Shut it," Resda said. "Must you do this every time?"

"I take pleasure from your misery." Miya beamed at Resda as he rolled his eyes in disgust.

"Gods..." Resda frantically searched for another subject. "So, how did you get free?"

Miya went silent. "I just... did. It was surreal. I had control, but it was like an out of body experience." She snapped out of her daze. "And I couldn't have done it without you. If I hadn't seen you guys in action... and gods... you're the champions! You're amazing!"

"You'd think that," Twilight said, eyes downcast. "We barely won today."

"But you _won,_" Miya told them. "That's better than any of us. You're the best."

"Miya, your group is leaving," Cloto announced.

"I'd better go. See you around, champions!" Miya waved and walked off.

After smiling back, the champions quickly turned towards each other. "Guys, we really cut it close today," Omega said. The others agreed. "We have to learn to use these light powers if we want to stand a chance fighting the other shadows."

"It reminds me of the attack I used on Gheren while you guys were trapped. You're sure you don't know how it works, Resda?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know. I thought I could just will it to happen, you know?" Resda shrugged. "After the first time I thought that I could do it again."

"So you've used it before," Omega analyzed. "That's a start."

"I vote we see Dark Lord," Kai said. "He'll probably have something to tell us." Resda and Omega seconded the motion, while Twilight swore inwardly.

"You guys, it's time to go," Nella said, interrupting their conversation. "You're the last group to leave." They turned their weary bodies and walked towards the portal, their first mission as champions finally over.

* * *

Back in the L Forest, Judith and Hawk were running into another set of problems. Judith looked around at the trees and scratched her head. "Odd," she thought aloud, "the road's supposed to fork here." She turned to Hawk. "Are we lost?" 

"I don't know. I thought you knew this path!" Hawk said, pinning the blame on her.

"I do. Something strange is going on here."

From atop the trees, a shadowy figure watched them. "Hee, this is fun!" He made a little leap. "A little warm up before I meet my real targets!"

Hawk noticed the rustling in the trees. He motioned noiselessly to Judith, who nodded without turning to look. He then spoke. "You hear that?"

"It's probably nothing. Plenty of monsters in the trees, you know," Judith replied, but she reached for her bow all the same, nocking an arrow.

"Of course I know," Hawk said, annoyed. He too drew an arrow from his quiver.

The shadow nearly fell out of the tree as he felt a mysterious power emanate from the direction of the adventurers below him. "Ah! That arrow..." he gasped. "Full of dark power... I must report this!" The shadow vanished. As he disappeared, some of the trees in Judith's path shimmered out of view.

"And there's the fork," Judith said smugly.

Hawk shrugged and looked down both paths. "So, which way?"

She pointed down the newly revealed fork. "Figures, huh?"

"Yeah, I suppose." Hawk motioned for Judith to take the lead. "Ladies first."

* * *

Man, I can't even write the words "Final Attack" without some part of me feeling like I'm copying something out of Revolt of the Archers. 

**Lore of Maple Legend (part whatever)**

_Magicians_

Magicians are divided into three schools. All schools start with the same basic skills - the Magic Claw, Energy Bolt, and various aura skills. These are taught to help the fledgling magic user control his or her powers, until the time comes to choose which of the three branches of magic to go into - Ice and Lightning, Fire and Poison, or Holy magic.

One may ask why there isn't a school of magic for each element. But the answer is simple - learning only one type of magic is... rather dull. Fire and Earth magics were paired together because they complement each other, as were Water and Wind. The end result is two unique spell paths, each satisfying a different taste.

Ice and Lightning mages learn how to employ chilled water to form ice projectiles, as well as strike areas with a lighting attack, among other things. As they get further along, they learn how to channel these abilities even further, often combining them with other spells. Fire and Poison Mages learn how to use projectiles of fire and poison, and later learn how to concentrate their abilities into an area around themselves.

The Holy school of magic teaches the ability to directly control the flows of light magic and transform it into life energy. As useful as this is, it provides little in the way of offensive magic. Traces of Earth magic have been added to the repertoire to increase its versatility.

There are rumors of a branch of magic that directly channels the dark side of magic, in the same way that clerics use light magic, but there are no known prominent users of this kind of power.

(Until now... dun dun dun.)

Personally, I'm glad this part of the story is over. Now that one enemy's out of the way, I can do other things! Yay!

However, I feel like something's wrong with this chapter. I can't put my finger on it. I can only hope that it turned out the way I picture it in my head.

Thanks for reading.

- Resda


	31. Questions and Answers

**Questions and Answers**

In a dingy bar at the edges of Kerning City, Nella was, once again, in her favorite bar, taking in the atmosphere. The bar patrons were of the usual sort, and everyone was enjoying their drinks. One particular nuisance, however, had managed to seat itself next to her at the bar. She averted her eyes and tried to ignore it, but, as expected, it was impossible.

She turned around to face him. "My lips are sealed, Delta," Nella said to the thief clad in dark colored armor.

"Come on!" Delta pleaded with her. "I know you know!"

Nella sighed. "If it makes you feel better, yes, I do know. They told me themselves."

Delta reached for a briefcase at his side and placed it on the bar, opening it to her. Inside were stacks of meso bills, neatly arranged and bound. Nella's eyes danced over the contents of the case before Delta snapped it shut again. "I'm willing to give you all of this if you can tell me who they are."

"No." Nella was surprisingly resolute. Delta was sure the bribe would work.

"Aw, come on!" He put on his desperate face. "Even just one of them? It's killing me not knowing!"

"I will not reveal the identities of the Meso Rangers. That is final." Nella's violet eyes glared at him. "Besides, I know that you just cut stacks of paper and put meso bills on top of them."

"Aaah! Darn it!" Delta stormed off, briefcase in tow.

Nella rolled her eyes and ordered another drink. The bartender took her order with a little laugh. "Maybe you ought to give him a fake name to get him off your back," he suggested to her.

"That would be against principle," Nella sighed, taking a sip. "Though it is tempting."

At that moment, Hawk and Judith entered the bar. Judith wrinkled her nose. "I don't really enjoy coming in here."

"She's the best source of information in Maple," Hawk replied. "Get over it."

Nella eyed them with an air of smugness as they approached. "Friends of Resda, I'd wager."

Hawk and Judith were stunned by her greeting; she was even more knowledgable than the rumors said. "Yeah," Judith answered. "Do you know where he is?"

Nella wagged a finger at her. "You should know better than to chase after him when he told you not to."

"How did you find out all of this?" Hawk's eyes narrowed. "Are you a psychic?"

"Don't pry," Nella replied. "Everyone is entitled to keep their own secrets."

Judith mumbled, "...hypocrite," before steering the conversation back on track. "Can you tell me where he is?"

"As much as it would pique my curiosity to have you meet up..." Nella sighed. "I can't do that. I won't help you when he doesn't want you to find him."

"I see," Hawk replied. "Thank you." They turned to leave, but stopped as Nella spoke up again.

"On an entirely unrelated note," Nella said, slyly, "you may want to visit Dark Lord."

"Oh! So, Resda's there?" Judith was ecstatic.

"On an _entirely unrelated_ note," she repeated, through her teeth, "you may want to visit Dark Lord. This is just something you may want to do. For your own good, that is." Nella finished.

"I see," Hawk said. "Thanks for 'not' helping." He gave a short bow and the two of them left for Dark Lord's facility.

The bartender eyed Nella as she watched them leave. "'Against principle,' huh?"

Nella turned to him and smirked. "Shut up and give me another drink."

* * *

At that moment, Resda, Kai, Twilight, and Omega reappeared outside the dungeon, closely followed by Cloto and Nella. Lakelis caught them exiting and sighed in relief, while continuing to address the crowd. She brought a loudspeaker to her lips. "Attention all Party Quest contestants! The dungeon is still closed! You can return here in a few weeks!" Many a disappointed groan reached her ears. "Gods, get it through your heads," she muttered as she stepped down off of her pedestal to greet the six of them. 

"Lakelis!" Cloto and Nella rushed to their sister, and embraced as if they had not seen each other in years.

"Thank the gods you're alright," she said happily, before turning to the champions. "And thanks to you as well. You succeeded where many failed today. You have done a great service to us."

"We were glad to help," Twilight replied. "It was quite an... interesting experience."

"And the four of us are together now!" Kai added.

"'The four of us'? What do you..." Lakelis stared at them, trying to see what she was missing.

Nella nudged her sister in the ribs. "Sister, surely you must have seen it?"

It became clear in a moment. "Wait. The legend... your auras... you must be the champions!"

"Guilty," Omega replied.

"Well then of course you managed to prevail!" Lakelis was at rapt attention. "What happened?"

* * *

At Dark Lord's training facility, conveniently located underneath another bar, Hawk and Judith had managed to get inside. Dark Lord was nowhere in sight. The two of them explored the small office space with careful eye, but still found nothing. 

"Darn, now what?" Judith said.

"Resda will be around soon enough, I think. Let's just wait." Hawk picked up a chair and sat down.

"Should we even be in here?" Judith said nervously. She walked over to a dark hallway, peering into it to see if he was there.

Suddenly, a hand reached out of the darkness and grabbed Judith by the collar of her shirt, drawing her close. "Intruders, identify yourselves!" the man said as he held her at the point of a throwing knife. His voice was rough and cold.

Hawk stood up, bow in hand and arrow ready. "Let go of her, or I'll shoot!" The room was still for a moment, when the dark man decided to let her go.

He stepped out of the hallway, revealing himself as Dark Lord. "You were willing to throw away your life for hers. Foolish, but I admire your pluck." She pushed her towards him, where she stumbled, but remained on her feet.

_An odd compliment, but I'll take it,_ Hawk thought. "Um, thanks."

"So, what are two of Helena's students doing here?" Dark Lord asked, narrowing his eyes.

"We're looking for someone," Hawk said. "Have you seen a person named Resda?"

"I'm not his keeper," Dark Lord replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," Judith explained, "Nella pointed us in your direction. We think he's coming to see you."

"Why would I even want to see him?"

Judith looked dumbfounded. "He's the champion of Henesys, for starters."

Dark Lord looked at her. "Is that so? Is he with the other champions?"

"How should we know?" Hawk asked back. "We haven't seen him."

Dark Lord turned away from them. "I see... Well then, it appears we have nothing to discuss. You may leave."

Judith headed towards the door. "If you won't help, I'll just find him myself." She noticed that Hawk did not leave with her, but she remained resolute. She ascended the stairs leading back to the bar.

"...There is something," said Hawk, with hesitation. "Dark Lord, I feel that I should have been chosen instead of Resda."

Dark Lord did not pay him much attention. "You have spoken with Helena about this?"

"Yes." Hawk turned his eyes downward. "She had little to offer on the matter."

Dark Lord stared at him intently. "You are tainted."

"Sir?"

"There is something dark about you. An affliction. Your presence... you were exposed to a great source of darkness."

"Yes, I was. I touched the Black Orb and it took me prisoner. But I was freed... by Resda," he added with a bit of resentment.

"The dark power still resides in you," the former champion noted. "It does not pose a threat," he added after Hawk began to protest.

"With all due respect, sir, what does that have to do with my not being the champion?" Hawk asked.

"As far as I can see, that is precisely the reason you are not champion."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"You are not the champion because you made a decision that changed that. Resda is because he chose it. Just as easily, you could have chosen not to touch the Orb, and Resda could have denied the burden Helena set upon him. You have created your own futures."

"That doesn't seem fair. I was destined for that role!"

"For us, there is no such thing as destiny," Dark Lord argued. "One would say that the sun is destined to rise every morning and set every evening. But humanity... we are not bound to the same routine. This is our blessing in this world."

"So, that's it then. He wins, and I lose?" Hawk clenched his fist.

"If you wish to confront your problem, you should do it directly," Dark Lord added, before he walked back into the dark hallway, leaving Hawk alone.

* * *

There's the chapter! I don't have anything else to add today. 

Enjoy the story!

- Resda


	32. Convergence

**Convergence**

"That's what happened," Omega finished. The champions had finally finished retelling their harrowing adventure in the dungeon.

Lakelis thought for a moment. "It seemed rather _stupid _of him to reveal his weakness."

"Chalk that up to arrogance and misinformation," Twilight replied. "He saw us fight, and he figured that we didn't know how to use our powers yet."

"I'm just glad that Resda was able to use his," Kai said.

"It was the luckiest shot in the universe," Resda argued.

"Lucky shot or no," Nella interrupted, "you just defeated a horrible evil. What will you do now?"

"We have to see Dark Lord," Kai answered. "Hopefully he can help us discover our latent abilities."

Twilight huffed. "He probably won't."

"You're not going to rest?" Cloto was surprised. "You must be weary from your travels, and it's very late. You don't have to see him now."

"It shouldn't take that long," Omega shrugged. "And then afterwards we'll look for an inn... You know, there's a pretty good one nearby that bar where we met up..."

Lakelis wagged a finger. "Oh no you don't, not tonight. Tonight you're staying with us."

"We really don't want to impose." Kai said, but the trio continued.

"It's the least we can do, for what you've done," Nella insisted.

"We own a large suite at a hotel near here. There are plenty of guest rooms," Cloto explained.

"If you really intend to see Dark Lord tonight, then go ahead," said Nella. "Meet us here afterwards and we'll take you to our place."

"You're not going to just wait here for us, are you?" Resda asked, concerned.

"Oh! No, no..." Cloto laughed at the thought. "We'll head home ourselves, and change out of these uniforms."

"And into something more... wholesome," Lakelis added, as an afterthought.

When met with confused looks from the champions, Nella raised an eyebrow. "You didn't think that we walked around in these revealing things all day, _did you_?"

Resda flushed. "Well..."

"Yeah," Twilight shrugged.

Cloto put her hands on her hips. "You wish."

* * *

As Judith reached the top of the steps, her resolution was broken and she was hit with a wave of indecision. "What am I doing?" she asked herself, as she grabbed a seat at a table. 

The barman looked at her - business was slow at this time of night, and any presence at the bar was better than none. "Want anything?" he yelled over to her.

She declined to answer, and the barman shrugged. _What if Nella's right? _she thought. _What if Resda doesn't want to see me?_ She shook her head to try to clear away the thought._ Why do I have to get this way every time? I want to see him. I have to. But..._ she sighed and muttered something.

The barman pricked up his ears. "What was that?"

"Some ice water would feel good right now."

* * *

Resda, Kai, Omega, and Twilight were finally on their way to Dark Lord's facility. "Resda," Kai asked, noticing Resda's worried look, "are you alright?" 

Resda was in a daze. He woke himself when he heard her question. "Oh. Uh, sure. I guess it's the city air," he lied.

"Well, I will admit that Kerning isn't the cleanest place," Omega said. "But you were breathing the air just fine until now."

"I'm good," Resda insisted.

"Resda, about today... I don't care if it was a lucky shot," Kai said. "You beat Gheren. And dont worry, we'll get our powers. And we will save the world."

"That's good to hear, Kai," Resda said, looking forward. _But that isn't the issue._

"We're here," Twilight said, pointing out the place Dark Lord spent most of his time.

"Another bar?" Kai asked.

"His facility is underground," Twilight explained. "He enjoys his privacy."

"Must be nice, living underneath a bar," Omega joked.

No one moved.

"What are we waiting for?" Kai said. "Ever since we got out of there, Resda, you've been depressed about something, and Twilight, you've been relatively quiet. All we're doing is going to see Dark Lord." She walked across the street towards the entrance of the bar and pushed the door open. "What could possibly happen?"

* * *

One cold drink later, Judith had managed to clear her head. "I still need to find Resda," she reminded herself as she walked towards the front door. "Nothing is going to stand in my way." 

(You can guess where this is going.)

The two girls collided into each other and crashed to the ground with a thud. Kai's leg propped the door open as the two stared at each other. The boys walked across the street, two of them laughing loudly. 

"You know, you had that one coming," Twilight said, eyebrows raised.

"Shut up," Kai snapped at him, before turning to apologize.

"I'm sorry," Judith blurted out. "I didn't watch where I was going."

"Neither did I," Kai replied, as she stood up and lent Judith a hand. "You okay?"

"I'm fine..." Judith had looked over to the others. She noticed Resda staring at the floor, and couldn't believe her eyes. "Resda?"

Resda's eyes were still downcast, but he immediately looked up at the sound of Judith's voice. "Judith?"

Judith rushed over to him, almost shoving Kai out of the way. "I found you at last!" They embraced, Judith hugging him as hard as she could.

Resda smiled gently. "You know, I asked you not to follow me."

Judith let go and looked him in the eye. "Well, I said that I would be with you."

"_In spirit,_" Resda reminded her.

"Well, my spirit's in my body," Judith teased. "I've done nothing wrong."

Resda glared at her playfully for a moment, before realizing that the other champions had smug smirks on their faces. "Oh! Judith," he said, whirling her around to face them, "these are Omega, Twilight and... well, you've already familiar with Kai. Guys, this is Judith." Hands were shaken all around.

"These are the other champions?" Judith smile faltered a bit, though no one seemed to notice. "That means you've already started your journey." She sounded more subdued. "That's great. I'm proud of you."

"So, this is the one Miya was talking about?" Twilight teased.

"Your 'girlfriend'?" Omega continued.

"She's not my girlfriend, she's just a friend." Resda's eyes narrowed.

"What he said," Judith added. She tried to glare in the same way, but the effect was lost as her face turned completely red. She turned to Resda to change the subject. "When did you guys see Miya?"

Resda's eyes went to the floor again. Judith looked to the others, who tried their best to avert her gaze. "You may want to sit down, Judith," Resda finally said. "Let's go inside." The five of them went into the bar, leaving an empty street in a sleeping city.

* * *

**Lore of Maple Legend (part whatever)**

_Warriors_

The warrior, as one would guess, is a largely physical class, whose focus is on building one's strength. Sitting Bull encourages his students to pursue inner strength as well, for various reasons.

Warriors have three job paths depending upon which weapons they choose to have proficiency in. The Fighter masters either the sword or the axe, the Page uses blunt weapons or swords, and the Spearman - as one would guess - wields spears or pole arms.

At early levels, warriors use magical energy and life energy to boost their own attack strength. Later they learn that by charging their weapons up with energy, they can release it in their attacks. This basic principle is applied differently for each branch of the Warrior class. Pages are trained to learn how to harness the elements into their attacks, Fighters learn how to store the energy within their weapons for powerful combo skills, and Spearmen use their energy to tap into the powers of dragons, boosting the capabilities of their normally slow weapons.

Warriors must always keep their power in check. Sitting Bull discourages his students away from mindless, grueling training sessions, preferring meditation instead, to gain the wisdom to know how to use the power they already possess. Those that do not heed Sitting Bull's warning usually pay the price for their mistake; all power comes with a sacrifice.

Thanks for reading!

- Resda


	33. The Gauntlet is Thrown

**The Gauntlet is Thrown**

The steps creaked under him as Hawk ascended from Dark Lord's chambers. As he neared the exit, he could recognize two voices. He smirked. _So, she found him. That was quick,_ he thought. When he reached the top, his suspicions were confirmed.

Sitting at a table were Judith, three people he didn't know... and Resda. From what Hawk could gather, they were talking about some random adventure they had. His gaze sharpened to the point where it was almost ready to bore a hole into Resda's forehead. Needless to say, it was enough to get his attention. The talking stopped.

"Hawk." Resda greeted him abruptly. A friendly greeting would have been awkward, considering their last meeting.

"Resda." Hawk walked over to the table and leaned on it.

"...Another friend of yours, Resda?" Kai asked, not knowing exactly what to expect. "Nice to meet you, I'm Kai."

Hawk barely acknowledged her presence, instead opting to stare harder at Resda. Resda returned his gaze calmly.

Kai would not be disheartened. "Uh, and these two are Omega and Twilight. We're the champions from the other..." she trailed off when she saw Hawk bristle at the word "champions".

Hawk continued to glare at Resda. "We have a score to settle."

Resda stared back, making sure not to convey any malice. "If you say so."

Hawk drew an arrow from his quiver. Judith's eyes widened. "Hawk, you promised not to harm him!"

"I have spoken with him. Our deal is finished," Hawk said to her, acidly.

Resda's normally calm voice wavered, and traces of anger were visible. "Leave her out of this."

Hawk grasped the arrow in his hand tightly, and slammed it into the table. When his hand left, the arrowhead was embedded fully into the wood. "I challenge you to a duel."

"No," Resda responded simply.

"I will _prove_ that you stole my title from me, Resda." Every word Hawk spoke dripped with pure loathing.

"Hawk," Resda said, "calm yourself. There are other matters that must be attended to-"

Hawk didn't calm down; instead he raised his voice. "So you think you're better than me now?"

"That isn't what I meant-"

"Just because you're the champion you think you're superior? Better than all of us? Better than your girlfriend there?"

Resda stood up abruptly, his hands balled into fists. "Do _not_ bring her into this." The other champions were shocked to see him react so impulsively.

"I believe I've touched a nerve," Hawk replied.

"Damn right you have," Resda replied.

Judith pleaded with the two of them. "Please, stop this!"

"I will not," Hawk replied. "What are you going to do, Resda?"

Resda almost leapt across the table, but Judith held him back. She looked into his eyes. "Resda. Please."

He stared back at Judith for a moment before finally relenting. He sighed deeply, unclenching his hands. "No, Hawk. I'm not fighting you."

"Fine," Hawk said, slyly. "Then I guess you'll never find out what I know."

"About what?" Twilight listened intently, looking for some sign that he was bluffing.

"You guys are looking for something," Hawk replied. "I might know where it is, and I'll gladly tell you... if Resda duels me."

"You're lying," Omega said.

"How much are you willing to stake on that? Did Nella give you enough information to go on?" Hawk continued.

Kai blinked, but remained as resolute as the others. "So far you haven't proven that you know anything."

"Let's just go, Resda," Twilight said to him.

"You've got yourself a deal, Hawk." Resda stared right at him as the others looked incredulous. He extended a hand, despite the others' protests, and Hawk shook the life out of it. "Tell us what you know," Resda continued.

"After the duel," Hawk said. He turned his back to them. "Tomorrow morning. The vacant lot across the street." He stormed towards the door and was gone a second later.

"Who was that?" Kai asked, incredulous.

"Hawk," Judith answered. "He claims that he was supposed to be the champion, and wants to challenge Resda for it."

"How do you know? I never really elaborated on that before," Resda asked her.

"He told me himself. He helped me find you." Judith replied.

Twilight's gaze followed Hawk through the window. "He's troublesome. Be on your guard tomorrow, Resda."

"Your life is pretty dramatic, isn't it?" Kai laughed.

"You guys, we've wasted enough time," Omega said. "Dark Lord is downstairs." The champions stood up and moved for the stairwell.

"Resda, wait a second." Judith was still seated. "We need to talk."

Before Resda could protest, the others waved him off. "Go ahead. Just don't take too long," Omega instructed him. They went down the stairs as Resda reclaimed his seat.

"Resda," Judith started, "you do know that Hawk's lying, right?"

"Of course," he replied. "But if I don't fight him, he'll walk around with this unhealthy obsession, and who knows what would happen." He looked out the window, almost expecting to see him staring back. "He's not a bad guy. Maybe if I just challenge him, things will be alright."

"Are you worried?" Judith asked. She noticed a strange look in his eyes, and put her hand on his.

"No." Resda's response was uncertain, and Judith noticed it.

"Yes you are," she replied, "I know you."

"Okay, fine," he admitted, "but it's not about the duel."

"Then what is it?"

Resda sighed. "You know, when I saw Miya hold that arrow to her wrist down in the dungeon, I only had one thing on my mind. Somehow or other, it was my fault."

"But it wasn't," she said, in a soothing voice. "She was being held captive long before you were there. You didn't know."

"But as soon as Gheren knew that she knew me, she was a target," Resda argued. "It got me thinking."

"About?"

"Well, what if this keeps happening? What will I do if they start hurting the people I know and care about? The people I love? What if they try to hurt-" Resda stopped. He averted his eyes, and a red tinge appeared in his cheeks. "I don't know if I could deal with that."

Judith's heart thumped in her chest. "Resda, when I was looking for you, I... had every intention of telling you to not go through with this."

"Why?" Resda looked deep into her eyes.

"I don't want you to get hurt. I wanted you to stay in Henesys..." She said something else, but it was barely audible: "...with me."

Resda heard it clear and loud. His eyes widened. "Judith, I-"

"Do you know the difference between you and me?" she continued. "I'm selfish."

"Don't say that," Resda said.

"It's true. We both agree that it would be great if you could just run away from all of this. But you... you'd only quit out of concern for the people you love." Tears began to run down her cheeks. "Resda, the entire universe is counting on you and the others. I shouldn't stand in your way."

Resda clasped his hands around hers, drawing her closer. "You aren't." Suddenly, they realized that their faces were now within inches of each other. They blushed a bit. Judith pushed herself forward, ever slowly. She gently closed her eyes and awaited what was to come.

Then the moment shattered into pieces. "Hey, you two alright up there?" Omega called up, snapping the two of them out of their daze.

The pair pushed away from each other quickly. "Uh... I..." Resda blurted out.

"You know, one of these days we need to have a nice, normal conversation," Judith teased.

"Yeah." Resda was glad things were back to normal. He got up and moved for the stairwell. He made an exaggerated gesture towards the threshold. "Shall we?" Judith smirked, and hooked an arm through his.

Resda's smile got a little wider. They proceeded down the stairs together.


	34. Glimpse of Dusk

**Glimpse of Dusk**

"So, you finally decided to join us?" a gruff voice snapped as Resda and Judith finally got downstairs. Resda unlinked his arm from Judith's in surprise, looking around at the small office. Omega and Kai had taken two seats, while Dark Lord was at his desk. Twilight was leaning against the wall, looking very unenthusiastic.

"Well, the thing is..." Resda stammered for an explanation.

"Let him be, Dark Lord," Twilight sighed. "If he doesn't hear you, then that's his problem."

"As I was saying," Dark Lord continued, "This shadow you encountered. You said that there are four of them?"

"Three now," Omega answered.

"Well, they are disturbing the balance between light and dark in the world." Dark Lord pantomimed scales for effect. "If this delicate balance is not restored, nature will try to compensate."

"What do you mean?" Kai questioned him.

"Reality will alter itself," answered the master thief. "Things will start to happen without any explanation. These phenomena will slowly increase in number and intensity until the world tears itself apart from sheer chaos."

"Wait! I saw something like that!" Judith suddenly exclaimed. "There were Master Robos in the L Forest. Hawk and I dismissed it as just a Summoning Bag prank." She put a finger to her lips. "But looking back, there were way too many of them for that to be true."

Resda contemplated a moment. "What about the dungeon? Gheren never claimed responsibility for the lack of monsters in there."

"A valid point," Twilight responded. "His powers weren't that extensive."

"I cannot tell you whether or not what you saw is a sign of things to come," Dark Lord interrupted, "but you must hurry regardless."

"Easy," Resda shrugged. "Master our powers, defeat the shadows, and everything's right with the world again."

"Not quite," Omega said. "If we were to master our powers and then defeat the three remaining shadow creatures, there would be another imbalance."

"An excess of light? Is that so bad?" Resda asked.

"A balance of any kind is unnatural," Dark Lord answered, "and requires correction. If one side is destroyed, it rises again, greater than before, to try to restore balance."

"So by destroying darkness, we leave room for a greater darkness - probably the evil we are destined to fight," Twilight concluded.

"Is there an end?" Kai asked of Dark Lord. "How can this cycle stop?"

"There is no end," he replied darkly. "Light and dark cannot exist without each other. They are intertwined, caught in an eternal struggle for dominance. The champion's duty is to take part in this battle and destroy the darkness. But with its destruction, the darkness returns stronger than before."

"Leaving the next generation to take care of the mess," Twilight chimed in. He got up off the wall. "Well, this has been a_ great_ story, but if you have nothing important to tell us, then this was a waste of time."

"Can you tell us about our powers?" Omega asked, trying to lessen the blow of Twilight's words.

"Like your weapons," Dark Lord answered, "your powers are unique. I cannot tell you how to discover them. They will reveal themselves to you with training." He turned to Kai. "Your power, Kai, will be far more difficult to manifest without your signature weapon. I suggest that you try to get it back."

"So we've got four goals: Get Kai's staff, get our powers, destroy the shadows, fight the big boss." Resda ticked off on his fingers. "Quite an agenda."

"Perhaps we ought to get started," Omega replied. Everyone stood up. "We really appreciate your assistance, Dark Lord." Resda, Judith, Kai, and Omega respectfully left the room.

Twilight stayed behind. "Dark Lord."

"Twilight," he responded. The two exchanged a glance before Twilight's eyes narrowed.

"You can't tell us more?" he asked.

Dark Lord shook his head. "I'm surprised, Twilight. I thought you didn't want my help."

"I didn't." Twilight agreed. "I still don't. But if our destiny is to fight, then you might be obligated to help," Twilight argued.

"Destiny," Dark Lord grumbled. "The word is meaningless to me."

"You were a champion," Twilight said, slightly surprised. "I was expecting you of all people to believe in destiny."

"The prophecies were self-fulfilling. We actively chose champions because we reacted to what the prophecy told us, and by doing so we made it true. There is no predictable future - only choices." Twilight began to protest, but Dark Lord cut him off. "I say this regardless of my past," he barked. "The others put too much stock in these prophecies. In reality, the only future is the one you make for yourself." He began to leave for the dark hallway.

"So, that's it?" Twilight yelled after him. "What's next?"

"Ask yourself that question, Twilight," Dark Lord replied, not turning back to face him.

After a moment, Twilight trudged up the narrow staircase and found the others waiting for him at a table. "Twilight!" Resda called out brightly. "What took you?"

"Nothing important," Twilight replied. Resda immediately shut up after the brush-off. "We should go back and see the sisters," Twilight continued.

"Of course," Kai replied, "they've probably been waiting." Suddenly, she was struck with a thought. "Judith, where are you staying tonight?"

She shrugged. "I hadn't planned that far in advance. I suppose I can crash at an inn someplace."

"Well, we're on our way to Sleepywood tomorrow," Resda said, "but why don't you stay with us tonight?"

The group shot amused glances at Resda and Judith, who immediately caught on. "It's not like that!" they cried out defensively.

Resda continued. "It's just... well, they told us there was a lot of guest rooms, and it would be nice to save her a few mesos. That's all," he insisted, when Omega raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'd love to stay with you guys," Judith replied. "That is, if it's alright with them."

"Come with us anyway," Twilight suggested. "That way you can at least ask them first."

"Okay," she decided. The quintet walked back to the dungeon entrance.

"So, can you explain this 'duel' to me?" Omega asked. The pair of archers immediately launched into an explanation of the rules, leaving Kai and Twilight to walk alone. They walked in silence for a while.

Kai looked at Twilight. "You looked pretty shaken back there," she said.

"It's nothing," Twilight replied, after a moment.

Kai turned a little more to get a better look at him. "Come on. We're teammates. If there's something bothering you I think the rest of us have a right to know."

Twilight sighed. "I suppose."

"Why don't you like Dark Lord? Didn't he teach you?"

"Well," Twilight said, stalling - he wasn't quite expecting something so direct. "It isn't just Dark Lord... I just can't stand being told what to do."

"I can relate," Kai grinned. "I've got the same problem." She looked into the sky wistfully. "My grandfather is pretty much the only person who could ever convince me to do anything."

"Did he raise you?" Twilight asked.

"Pretty much, yeah. My parents aren't around much. We don't even know what they're up to nowadays." Kai shrugged. "It's not really a big deal."

"You're lucky enough to remember them, at least," Twilight replied. "When I was really young, my parents... they..."

"I'm sorry," Kai said, knowing what Twilight was going to say.

"It's fine." Twilight gave Kai a sincere smile. "I got over it long ago." He faced forward again. "So I pretty much raised myself. Naturally I've become a bit of a loner," Twilight added.

"Kinda funny that you're on a team now, huh?" Kai joked.

Twilight chuckled. "You know, that's what Manji said when he found out about all this."

"How did you end up working with them anyway?" Kai asked him.

"Pure luck." Twilight reminisced. "The three of us crossed paths one day when I was traveling near some ruins. A mysterious power arose and the three of us stopped it and saved the ruins. From that point on we sought out treasure together. We're practically siblings now."

"Makes sense," Kai replied. "You know, this is probably the first time we've had a real talk since... well, the incident."

"The incident..." echoed Twilight. He remembered the poison filling Manji's lungs, remembered himself and Kai trying to rend each other to pieces, first on the mountainside, then again in Sophia's shop. His fist clenched around his Nazo, but he remained silent.

"Sorry," Kai said, noticing his hand tense up. "Didn't mean to bring it up that way."

"It's fine," Twilight answered. "We'll resolve this. Soon." He spoke each word with strong resolve. Kai eyed his stern demeanor. The silence made the two of them uneasy.

Eventually, the five arrived at the dungeon entrance. A single streetlamp cast its glow about the metal, brick and pavement. Waiting for them was a trio wearing differently colored but otherwise identical outfits consisting of jeans and a comfortable t-shirt. "Back already?" Cloto asked.

"Yeah, Dark Lord didn't tell us much important," Twilight said.

"You bringing a guest?" Nella asked, pointing at Judith, who waved back sheepishly.

"If it's alright with you," Resda replied.

Lakelis smiled. "Of course. We would be glad to have her."

"It'll be nice to hear some new voices at our place," Nella added. She pointed in the direction of the building, and the group of eight proceeded, ready to finally call it a day.

* * *

Faithful readers from before my fanfiction dot net days will notice a change in perspective compared to the old version of this chapter. The purpose of this change is twofold. 

First, I wanted to develop all four champions equally. The old version focused way too much on Resda - a personal bias that I am trying to outgrow. Kai and Twilight have an interesting dynamic worth exploring, and Omega has his drama as well, but aside from that I never really did much with them. Considering that they're the main characters, I feel that I owe them at least this much. (How pretentious do I sound right now?)

Second, the passage that was there originally was really just a waste of space, used for explanation of an upcoming plot point. I never really liked it... it felt less like real dialogue and more like forced exposition. Well, I suppose that this bit counts as something like that, but it feels more natural to me.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, good. I'd like to keep it that way.

**Lore of Maple Legend**

_Bowmen_

Bowmen, or archers, make one simple decision at the start of their career - whether they want to use the quick-firing bow or the powerful crossbow. This decision, once made, influences the focus of their training, guided by Helena. Aside from an elemental attack and a signature move, the two branches are fairly similar, learning how to produce arrows out of energy, and summon bird familiars and puppet decoys.

There are differences, of course. The simplicity of the bow allows for hunters to channel magic more efficently than crossbowmen. As a result, it is easier for elemental energy to be added to the arrows. For example, arrows imbued with wind magic can bounce, and arrows with fire magic behind them will explode. As for the crossbow, attacks are more straightforward, so magic simply enhances the power behind the bolt itself. The Iron Arrow skill, for example, simply increases the rotation force behind the bolt, allowing it to strike true even through walls and other targets.

Helena makes it a point to give her students focus. The idea behind it is simple, though actual execution is complex: One must visualize his or her surroundings, down to minute details. When the state of focus is achieved, the archer can do wondrous things, exhibiting near-complete control of their immediate situation. This focus is important for any budding archer to become truly proficient at his or her class. Of course, one large drawback arises from this: an archer must be able to focus solely on the battleground. Outside thoughts can disturb and distract the archer, preventing him or her from doing much of anything.

Thanks for reading!

- Resda


	35. The Other Side

**The Other Side**

Isrim paced the floor in the rather modest hotel room that the trio had rented. Deianira was seated on the bed, the map sprawled in front of her. She held a crystal in her hand, and was waving it over the map, waiting for it to glow.

Ozeku watched Isrim pace mindlessly as he lounged on the couch. "Meso for your thoughts," he said mockingly.

"It's amazing," Isrim said. "It shouldn't take this long to fix a damn boat."

"You're worrying too much, it's not like you," Deianira replied, her eyes still on the map. The crystal in her hand glowed, and she took a pencil and marked the spot. Immediately the crystal disintegrated in her hands. She looked up. "Our target is still in Victoria. We're fine."

"How long is it gonna stay there? If we can't get off of this damned Lego island, we won't be able to catch up." Isrim continued to pace.

"A valid point, Isrim. You cannot teleport us to Victoria?" Ozeku asked Deianira, who had laid back on the bed, her scry finished.

She shot him a look. "Do you even know how my teleport spell _works_?" she asked him. "I can take myself to Victoria," she continued, "but only myself. The spell only transports the user." She stared up at the ceiling. "And either way, suddenly appearing in a swirling black vortex does little to mask our presence."

"Well that's just great." Isrim sighed and slumped onto the couch next to Ozeku.

"Get off," Ozeku grunted.

"It's a _couch_," Isrim argued, settling in deeper. "There's room for two."

"You're in my space," Ozeku said, his voice rising.

Isrim matched his volume. "We wouldn't have a problem if you didn't take up so much space to begin with!"

"Say that again," Ozeku threatened him.

Deianira rolled her eyes. _Gods. Maybe I _should_ just go on without them._ She stood up. "Let's go to the ticket office. We can find out what is taking so long."

"Good plan," Isrim replied as he got up to follow.

"I will join you," Ozeku said. "Perhaps there is a way we can... speed the process."

As they began to leave, the room suddenly became dark. "Deianira, is this your doing?" Isrim said, feeling the darkness around him.

"On one level, yes," she replied. A slight breeze blew through Deianira's hair as a shadowy figure rose up through the floor. "You have news of Euthys?"

"Mistress," the shadow said with respect, "I have located a human with a sufficiently dark aura."

"I see." Deianira smiled. "What did the person look like?" Isrim and Ozeku pricked up their ears.

"Like a human," the shadow replied proudly. The warriors sighed.

"No, that's not what I mean." Deianira struggled to remain patient.

"Let's keep it simple," Isrim said. "Was the person a male or a female?"

"It was a male, mistress," the shadow replied, as if Deianira has asked the question. "It used a bow."

"And?" Deianira pressed on.

"It looked like a human, mistress."

Ozeku grumbled. "That narrows it down," he snapped.

"Be on your way," Deianira said, masking her disappointment. "Return to your mission."

"Of course, mistress." The shadow sunk through the floor again, and the room brightened.

"That was the most useless message I've ever heard. You should have just killed that thing." Ozeku picked up his blade.

"At least we know that we're looking for a male bowman somewhere on Victoria Island," Deianira said, in defense of her minion. "Besides, he will be useful in distracting the champions."

"If you say so," Ozeku said. "We should get going." He held open the door, and the trio proceeded outside.

The streets of Ludibrium were as busy as usual, but they had no problems making their way through; people tend to steer clear of guys as large as Ozeku. But when they reached the departure gate, they found it nearly empty. A piece of paper blew in the wind across the path and out of sight. Only the ticketing usher remained where she was. "The ships are still off line," the usher said automatically.

"We can see that," Deianira said, glancing around. "But why?"

The usher started. Usually her first comment was enough... she never had to tell people why. She strained for an explanation, sweat dripping down her face. "Uh, there were... technical difficulties... and..."

"Gods, you're hopeless." An unfamiliar voice made everyone turn. A tall, thin, calm man in cool business attire stepped forward, from behind a pillar. "You couldn't lie if your life depended on it."

"I'm sorry sir! Please don't fire me!" the usher cried out.

"I suppose it's my fault for trying to cover it up, though. Your job's safe, kid." The man tossed her a smile, before turning to the trio. He took Deianira's hand in his. "I'm Jack. I run this place." He pulled her hand to his lips.

Deianira immediately snatched it away and glared angrily at him. "Don't do that." Her red eyes conveyed her emotions better than her words did.

Jack's forehead became moist, but he remained as calm as he could. "Okay. I'm guessing you want to know why the airships are down, eh?"

"Yes, we would," Isrim said as he approached the two of them. "It's not bad weather, I'm assuming."

"Well, put simply, I won't launch the boats because they don't get to their destination." Jack stared darkly at them. "Every ship we send out... _vanishes_."

"Do you know why?" Deianira asked.

Jack brushed her off. "Of course I don't know why, how dumb do you take me for?"

"Send another crew," Ozeku said. His booming voice made Jack flinch.

Jack remained adamant, even in the face of these three imposing figures. "I'll be damned if I send another crew in there to vanish."

"Your concern is admirable," Isrim said, "and I have a solution. Send us."

"Come again?" Jack could not believe his ears.

Neither could Deianira. She quickly whipped him around, and the trio huddled together. "What are you doing?" she hissed at him.

"Can't you see what is going on here?" Isrim said. "It's _chaos_, Deianira."

"Of course," Ozeku said, catching on. "Our arrival and the creation of Deianira's shadow creatures has thrown the universe off balance."

"But if that's the case, the chaos has spread far too quickly," Deianira said. "If whatever it is out there is a manifestation of chaos, then there must be something else tipping the scales."

"That's the champions' problem," Isrim said. "But we can at least destroy this obstacle and be on our way."

"Agreed," Deianira decided. Ozeku nodded in assent. They turned back to face Jack.

"Done talking?" Jack asked, tentatively.

"We would like to offer our services in disposing of this... thing," Ozeku said.

"What do you have to gain?" said Jack. His voice betrayed suspicion.

"Sir, can't you tell who they are?" the usher quickly explained, stepping out of the booth. "They're the heroes that saved the Orbis ship."

"All we want is to pass," Deianira explained. "We demand nothing more, except perhaps transportation."

Jack sighed. "Okay."

"What, no token resistance?" Isrim teased.

"It's not like we have a better plan." He walked over to the gate and unlocked it. "Come on." He walked through it towards the dock, closely followed by the ticket usher. The others soon followed - Isrim chuckled slightly at the concept of playing hero again - leaving a deserted station behind.

* * *

Kinda short... but I wanted to detour from the champions for a chapter. 

You know, I never thought of a name to give the three (soon four) of them. As a group, I mean. I reference Twilight, Kai, Omega, and Resda as "the champions" when I don't want to type their names in succession, but I don't have a general title to give these guys.

I refuse to call them "the bad guys". I used "warriors" in this chapter, but I'm not too happy with it. I've thought about "dark ones" but that seems overly dramatic to me, considering that I'm going to try to flesh them out as characters beyond their role as the villains.

If you've got a suggestion, please send it to me via review. (Clever trick, no?) That or you can just send me a message. Your input helps!

- Resda


	36. The Duel

**The Duel**

"Good morning, you two," Kai said when she noticed Resda and Judith slumping over to the dining table, still half asleep. She raised an eyebrow. "What were _you_ doing up so late?" Twilight and Omega snickered, while Lakelis, Nella, and Cloto gave the pair bemused looks.

"Nuff'm," Resda muttered as he dropped into a chair.

"I think that says enough," Omega said, putting another pancake on his plate.

Judith's eyes widened as she coughed loudly. "No! It's not what you think!" she exclaimed. "We stayed up talking all night and enjoying each other's company. That's all!" She looked to Resda to back up her story, but he was still in a half-asleep, zombie state, unable to do more than rub his eyes.

"I see," Twilight said, a cheeky grin crossing his usually serious face. "You _enjoyed_ each other all night, huh?" The boys burst out laughing, while Kai and the three sisters grimaced, mildly offended by the lewd comment. Judith, on the other hand, blushed so hard that she was very likely to pass out from blood loss.

Omega snorted. "Wow. Nice one," he said between laughs.

"No it wasn't," Judith said, still flustered. She crossed her arms and humphed.

"Yes it was... you set yourself up for that one." Resda chuckled heartily until Judith gave him a rap on the shoulder and an icy glare. "Sorry."

"Here, eat," Lakelis offered, glad to change the subject. "You need to get your energy up before the duel today." Resda accepted her offer with gratitude.

"Resda, should you really go through with this?" Judith asked, unable to even contemplate eating.

"Ask me again when I'm awake," Resda joked as he filled his plate.

Judith put a hand on the table. "I'm serious. Are you really going to fight him?"

"Of course I will. I made a promise."

"But he hates you! He isn't going to rest until you're completely _humiliated!_" Judith protested, practically slamming her fist into the table. She quietly apologized after everyone turned to look at her.

"Judith has a point," Kai said as she continued her breakfast. "He's not exactly the nicest guy in Victoria."

"Lying to get your attention, finding the little things that irritate you," Twilight added, "I'd have to agree."

"And it's not like you need to stay here anyway," Judith pleaded with him. "You could just skip town before he notices. Didn't Nella tell you where to head next?"

"I did?" Nella asked, surprised at Judith's comment.

"The other one," Cloto said dismissively.

"Ah," Nella responded before returning to her meal.

"Look, I explained it before," Resda sighed. "If I don't deal with this now, he's just going to continue brooding. It's unhealthy," he added as an afterthought. "If I can do something about it, I'm going to."

"That's admirable of you," Lakelis said. "You're very noble."

Judith ignored Lakelis's remark. "Resda, I just don't want you to get hurt," she confessed. "He's good. Really good. Are you prepared for the possibility that you might lose?"

"Fine by me," Resda shrugged. "It doesn't really matter; whether I win or lose, we'll continue doing what we're destined to do. Everything will be okay."

Judith sighed. "I guess I'm not convincing you to get out while you can. Stubborn as usual."

"I'm not being stubborn, I'm doing this for his own good," Resda defended himself.

"You can say that now," Judith said, "but don't get too caught up. He's tricky. I don't know what he's going to do to win this duel, but I'm sure he'll do something."

Resda smirked. "It'll be fine," he assured her. He glanced at the clock mounted on the wall across from him. "It's time to go," he said, standing up. "I'll just grab my Arbalest and head out."

"I'm coming too," Judith said. "You need a judge." Resda didn't bother to protest; she was right.

"So are we," said Omega. "This sounds like too good an opportunity to pass up." Twilight nodded and excused himself from the table to gather his belongings.

"I've never seen an archer's duel," Kai added. "It should be fun to watch!"

Resda groaned, before relenting. Duels were usually very private affairs, and bringing an audience was a little... uncomfortable. But it wasn't like he could turn them down. "Okay. That's fine. Are you three coming along too?" he said.

"No, we're fine," Cloto replied, batting a hand. "Your stuff will be here when you guys get back."

"Good luck!" Lakelis said.

"Thanks," Resda said. "I may need it."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the lot, Hawk stood alone among the derelict remains of whatever building once stood. The area was littered with crumbling walls and various signs of ongoing construction, though nobody was there now, and there was a large, empty space in the middle that would suffice for the dueling ground. Hawk's bow was drawn and strung, and he absently plucked it in his impatience. "Today, we settle it," he said to himself. He couldn't help but smile at the thought. "I'll prove that Resda stole what is rightfully mine."

At that moment, Resda, Judith, Kai, Omega, and Twilight arrived. They joined Hawk where he stood, in the center of the space. "We're here," Resda said.

"I see. Judith will be the judge, then?"

"Of course," Judith replied, matter-of-factly.

"And it appears we have an audience as well," Hawk said, regarding the others with a simple glance. "You three may want to stand back."

"Right," Omega said, pulling the others back. They found a convenient stack of planks to sit on, and prepared to enjoy the show.

Resda and Hawk faced each other across the dusty grounds. Hawk removed his usual black cloak, throwing it into the dirt nearby. Without it, his sharp eyes were even more striking as they bore right into Resda's skull. Judith stood beside them, an arm in the air, her hair flapping in the slight breeze. She began to speak, words memorized from rote. "Here commences the archer's duel between Resda and Hawk! Do both parties understand the rules of the duel?"

"Yes," Resda replied.

"Of course," Hawk answered.

"Shake hands," Judith said. They did so. Hawk tried his best to crush Resda's hand in his grip. "Don't forget to use Soul Arrow," she told the both of them.

"You just learned the skill, Resda," Hawk began. "So yours won't last long."

"We can leave it off if you want," Resda said.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll have struck you long before your spell wears off." A golden glow shone from his hand, indicating that Soul Arrow was active. Resda quickly cast his spell.

"Ten paces!" Judith barked next. The duelists faced away from each other. As Judith counted it off, they took large, deliberate strides, each knowing the event that was about to take place.

"They explained all this to you," Kai asked Omega, "could you tell us what's going on?"

"It's actually pretty simple. It's like fencing but with ranged weapons - each round starts on the referee's signal, and ends when she calls point. After each round they return to the center of the arena to start again." Omega rattled off. "You earn a point by striking your opponent, and the first person to get three points wins."

"This is a bit too formal for my tastes," Twilight criticized.

"What were you expecting? A Western-styled shootout?" Omega cocked his head.

"Shh, it's starting!" Kai put a hand in front of Twilight's mouth before he could deliver his witty retort.

"...Eight! Nine! Ten! And... face!" Judith called out. The wind was beginning to pick up, so she had to yell a little more. Resda and Hawk turned, eyes locking from across the arena. "And... begin!"

"**Booster!**" Hawk said confidently. Before Resda had a chance to load an arrow, Hawk was on the attack. "**Double Shot!**" he said, pulling his bowstring back. Two energy bolts materialized and he immediately fired them.

Resda ducked underneath the first bolt and weaved around the second one as they flew. "Good try, Hawk," he said as he loaded his crossbow, ready to begin his riposte. He brought his Arbalest to eye level. "Double-"

"**Arrow Blow!**" Hawk continued, firing an arrow with authority. Resda didn't have time to blink before the bolt of energy struck him in the chest. Resda fell onto his backside.

"Point!" Judith said. The other champions groaned. "Return to the center!"

"This doesn't look good for Resda," Kai sighed.

"It's not over," Omega reminded her. "In fact, it's just beginning."

Twilight nodded, adding, "Resda has a feel for how Hawk attacks; we'll see how he reacts."

The two archers returned to the middle of the arena. "Do you see what I mean, Resda?" Hawk said.

"You're good," Resda admitted, "I can see that. Though I'm still not sure what you stand to gain from this."

Hawk glared. "Don't you see? The champion must be strong! If you can't beat me, you can't possibly defeat the darkness! If I win, I'll prove that I was right!"

Omega froze when he heard Hawk's words. The humiliating memory resurfaced; the mysterious stranger who defeated him and left him for dead was still fresh in his mind. "Gods..." Omega breathed.

"Omega?" Kai asked, catching Omega's response. "You okay?"

"It's nothing," lied Omega. "Look, they're starting again."

Kai looked to Twilight, who shook his head. They each made a mental note to check up on Omega after the duel was over, but for now, Twilight was right - it would be best to leave him be.

"Ten paces!" Judith said. She eyed both archers as they approached their positions. "And... begin!"

"Perhaps it's time I take this duel seriously," Resda said. He closed his eyes, and mentally prepared himself. "**Focus.**" In his mind's eye, things started to drop out of view; the background noise of human traffic and construction, his friends sitting and watching on a makeshift bench, Judith refereeing the match, all of it dissolved into a haze. All that remained were himself, Hawk, and the battlefield. He smiled at the clarity of mind he had achieved.

Hawk eyed Resda with approval, perhaps for the first time. "Ah. Laine taught you Focus. Though you still have to close your eyes to do it... you haven't quite mastered it yet." Hawk's eyes narrowed. "This should get interesting. **Focus!**" Almost immediately, Hawk's mind was tuned into his surroundings. Even minute details failed to escape him.

The pair of archers eyed each other warily. "You gonna make a move?" Resda asked.

Hawk felt Resda's voice, and understood his plan of attack. Immediately, he responded with three arrows, aimed right for Resda's chest.

Resda saw three arrows approach him. _He's coming at me head on,_ he reasoned. He ran forward, towards Hawk and the arrows. Resda quickly sidestepped to his right to dodge the assault, and loaded his own bolt. He fired it straight at Hawk.

Hawk dodged to his left, surprised at how quickly Resda had gone from defense to attack. Despite the shock, Hawk retained his focus, responding by running straight at Resda, arrow ready.

"**Iron Arrow!**" Resda fired the bolt that he himself had prepared, catching Hawk in the stomach. Muffled cheers from the sidelines quickly brought both Resda and Hawk out of their respective trances.

"Point!" Judith said. A trace of a smile was on her face, but she tried to remain professional. "To the center!"

"You're faster than I expected, Resda. But I'm still going to defeat you," Hawk said as they prepared for the next round. "Then everyone will see you for the fake you are... especially Judith."

Resda flinched. "What?"

"You heard me."

Resda's grip on his weapon tightened. "Leave her out of this."

"Take your ten paces," Judith interrupted them. She glared angrily at Hawk as he walked by. "Begin!"

"**Focus!**" Hawk chanted. Again his mind was clear; the battle was the only thing in his perception.

"Focus," Resda tried, but in his frustration the technique failed. Resda took a deep breath. It took a moment for Resda to get Hawk's last comment out of his mind, but soon he was ready to fight. "**Focus! Booster!**" Resda planted his feet, crouched down, and pushed up with all the force he could muster, jumping up and over Hawk. As Resda sailed through the air, he loaded and fired a salvo of arrows from above.

"I've never even heard of anyone using a tactic like that before," Twilight stated in approval. "Resda's got some skill."

"This is the kind of stuff you will only see in a duel," Kai replied. "One opponent, strict rules... the conditions are ideal for using more creative techniques."

Despite Resda's clever move, Hawk was unfazed. He simply smiled and aimed an arrow to the floor beneath him. As he drew the string back, it began to glow a fiery red. "**Arrow Bomb!**" he chanted as he fired. The force of the explosion sent both Resda and his arrows tumbling to the floor as a thick cloud of dust covered the area.

As the dust settled, Resda dusted himself off and quickly scanned the area, his focus reestablished. He spotted Hawk directly in front of him, up against one of the wall fragments littered about the area. "I've got you!"

As Resda ran straight for him, Hawk did a full about-face into the wall. "Wrong, Resda! **Trick Shot!**" Hawk fired the arrow straight into the wall and crouched down as it rebounded off of it. Resda was caught off guard as the arrow struck his stomach and sent him to the ground again.

"Gods," Resda said, after a bit of a coughing fit, "I haven't seen anyone use Trick Shot like that besides-"

"Besides Judith?" Hawk finished. Resda stared up at him. "She showed me a thing or two on the way up here. At least she knows who deserves to win today." He called out to her. "Hey! My point, right?"

Judith was a little jarred by Hawk's comment. "Uh, point," she said absentmindedly, as Hawk pulled Resda to his feet as violently as possible. "Ten paces," she continued.

"Gods," Twilight said, concerned.

"What is it? What do you see?" Omega and Kai watched the duelists.

"Resda's mad," Twilight answered. "He'd better snap out of it now, or he's finished."

"Someone should try to calm him down, then," Kai replied, moving to stand up. Twilight stopped her.

"Let it play out. This isn't our battle." Twilight continued to watch the battle with intensity.

"Why are you dragging her into this?" Resda said, not moving from his spot. Hawk responded with a sly grin before turning around and walking ten steps. Resda fumed.

"Resda, take your ten paces," Judith said, clearing her throat. He did so, activating Soul Arrow before he turned back around. Judith brought down her arm to signal the start of the next round. "Begin!"

"**Booster! Soul Arrow! Focus!**" Hawk quickly cast his three buffs and aimed carefully, trying to discern which way Resda was preparing to move. But he noticed something rather... unusual. _He's just standing there,_ he thought. _Perhaps I should make my move now._ Hawk loaded two arrows and aimed carefully before firing. "**Double Shot!**"

Resda didn't make a move. Judith became worried. "Resda! Do something! You haven't even used Focus yet!"

"Hey, Judith, forget about him. He's worthless," Hawk jeered.

As one would expect, the constant mudslinging was enough to get Resda riled up. It took everything Resda had, and he still couldn't concentrate. Hawk's words kept returning to the surface of his mind, and with it came a flood of worries and expectations that he still couldn't wrap his brain around.

"Resda!" Judith cried out, despite herself.

At that moment, Resda opened his eyes and recognized Hawk's attack in front of him. He raised his crossbow and set it aglow with red energy. "**Power Knockback!**" With a mighty swing, Resda sent the arrows ricocheting back towards Hawk.

"Holy-" was all Hawk managed before his own arrows struck him in the shoulder.

Judith was in shock. Resda's response had come almost too late - had he lingered a moment longer, Hawk would have won the duel. "Point!" she said after snapping out of it. The two duelists returned to the center.

"It's a shrewd tactic, Hawk," Resda said, eyeing him carefully.

"Huh?" Hawk asked him, feigning ignorance.

"I don't appreciate this kind of dirty fighting," Resda continued.

"It's not dirty. It's life." Hawk sneered. "I wouldn't let myself be tied down by all of your emotional crap."

"Are you implying that my friends are a weakness?" Resda said.

"Oh, no," Hawk corrected. "You're the only weak one." Hawk laughed mirthlessly as Resda's anger grew more intense. "You're unfit for your position - my position," he corrected. "I'm proving it."

"You son of a-" Resda started, but it was futile. Hawk had already begun to walk. "That's it," Resda said. "This ends now." He walked, turned, and aimed carefully, awaiting Judith's signal.

"A standoff, eh?" Hawk said, noticing Resda's crossbow at the ready, an energy bolt loaded. "I can do that." Hawk drew back his bowstring. An arrow materialized, made of Hawk's magic energy. He trained his bow on Resda, ready to release the shot at Judith's signal. As he waited, he felt some sort of energy from within him welling up and filling the arrow with more power. The feeling, whatever it was, only strengthened his resolve.

Judith gulped loudly. "Gods... this is out of control."

"Start the duel already," Hawk yelled at her, causing her to jump.

"Begin!" Judith dropped her hand.

As Resda's trigger finger twitched, he knew something was different this time. _This is it! The final shot!_ Resda pulled the trigger as Hawk released his bowstring. To everyone's surprise but Resda's, the bolt glowed a brighter gold than normal. It split Hawk's arrow in twain as it flew, and struck Hawk's bow with a satisfying crack, knocking it out of his hand. Resda stared a moment, looking up at a bewildered Hawk, then down to the Arbalest in his hands. _That shot was meant for his chest,_ Resda thought. _It was perfect. How did I miss?_

Hawk was still in shock. "By the gods, what was that?" he contemplated aloud. From his angle, it was a perfect shot. No one could get that lucky, without magical assistance. Which, he recalled, Resda seemed to have - the bolt glowed a brighter gold than usual, and left a trail behind it. _But what's Resda doing?_ he thought. _He could finish this thing now!_

The champions were in awe. "That's what our powers can do?" Omega breathed. "That was an impossible shot!"

Kai quickly got a grip on herself. "It's not over though, Resda didn't strike Hawk with that shot."

Resda regained his bearings. _I'll finish this anyway!_ He ran forward, holding his crossbow at the ready. He drew within point-blank range. A bolt fused itself from Resda's energy, glowing gold and ready to be fired. Resda held it up, his finger on the trigger.

Then he looked at Hawk. His face was screwed up in courage, ready to take the hit. But his eyes betrayed something else... a fierce pride, at the precipice of being shattered to millions of pieces. Hawk was quick to hide this emotion when he spoke. "Shoot."

Resda sighed. "I can't do this," he said. "This is wrong."

"Look, Resda," Hawk snapped, "I'm unarmed, you have me at point-blank range, and you need one point to win this duel. So shoot!" Hawk lashed out and pressed the business-end of the crossbow into him.

Resda wrestled the crossbow away from Hawk and tossed it aside resolutely. "You win. I surrender."

Judith and Hawk's jaws dropped. "What?" Hawk yelled. "Why?"

"My last shot," Resda replied. "I missed. That shot defeated the Demon Archer and destroyed an evil shadow. But it missed you."

Hawk raised his arms to defend himself, still confused. "What are you getting at?"

"It's a sign," Resda explained. "The champion shouldn't be fighting pointless battles. He has a higher calling. Wouldn't you agree?"

Hawk opened and closed his mouth, words failing him.

"You're the superior archer. I admit it," Resda said. "And that's fine with me. But whether or not I deserve it, whether or not I even _want_ it, I'm the champion. If we could trade places, I'd do it without question. But we can't. So I will do what I have to do."

Hawk gritted his teeth. Resda had just repeated, almost word for word, what Helena had told him. "Resda-" he started.

"Judith," Resda said, before Hawk could get in a word edgewise, "it's over. Call it."

Judith was completely engrossed by the dramatic turn of events, and probably would have continued to watch intently had Resda not reminded her of her duties as judge. "Oh! Uh, right. Resda has surrendered the duel! Hawk wins by default! Congratulations!"

Resda extended a hand to Hawk, smiling warmly. Hawk narrowed his eyes before finally taking it and shaking it firmly. "Don't you dare think this is over, though," Hawk warned. "It isn't, not by a long shot."

"I figured," Resda smirked.

Hawk released Resda's hand and walked off. "I may be the better archer," Hawk said, without turning around, "but perhaps you are the better man." Judith and Resda watched silently as Hawk left the lot and disappeared into the morning bustle.

"What. Was. That?" Kai screamed as she and the others ran over. "You had it in the bag! You used your light powers and everything!"

"I missed, we talked, I surrendered," Resda shrugged. He ambled across the lot, unfazed.

Kai turned to Judith, mouth agape, searching for an answer. "What just happened?"

Judith smiled softly and turned to follow Resda with nary a word.

"Stupid archers and their tree-hugging philosophical mysticism talk," Kai muttered as she, too, followed, leaving Omega and Twilight alone.

"That was a bit of an anticlimax," Omega said, disappointed. "We don't know who won now. Don't you think, Twilight?"

"Yeah," the bandit replied. "Hey, during the duel..."

Omega turned to his ally. "What?"

Twilight relented, against his better judgment. "Never mind. They're leaving us behind. Come on." Twilight and Omega ran after them, leaving the lot silent and empty.

Or so it seemed.

* * *

No one noticed another figure leave the arena from the opposite entrance. A Zard remained sheathed on his back, and a wide bamboo hat shaded his eyes. He quickly walked across the street and into an alley, slipping into the darkness.

"You were right," he said, as if to no one. Suddenly, two shadowy figures burst up from the ground. Any normal man would have at least raised his blade to them in defense. But this wasn't a normal man.

"I told you!" the smaller shadow said, leaping in an almost animalistic fashion. "Mistress will be pleased, yes?"

"Yeah, Ogori, Mistress will be pleased, whatever," the man replied. "There certainly is a dark presence around this... Hawk. Baako, what do you make of it?"

The larger shadow responded. "My concern is the champions. They are becoming strong."

Ogori laughed, in his annoying, high pitch. "You boast of your strength all the time. Why are you concerned?"

"We've already lost one brother," Baako replied. "We must take great care."

"Gheren was a self-centered fool," the man spit. "We will not make the same mistake." He eyed Ogori with a measure of contempt. "You have something to add?"

Ogori had had enough. "Discard that worthless form, Saerali! These humans are as repulsive as they are weak."

The man sighed. "This form is hardly useless. I was able to watch the duel unnoticed, was I not?"

"What if someone recognizes you?" Ogori complained.

"Please," Saerali replied. "That won't happen."

Outside the alley, a passing mage happened to see a young warrior, apparently talking to himself in a dark alleyway. She stopped, recognizing him instantly. "Pende?"

Saerali turned, but did not speak. He eyed her carefully.

"I thought you were up in Orbis!" she continued, but got no response. Undaunted, she tried again. "Pende, it's me, Kasi!"

Again, no response.

"Pende," Kasi said sternly, walking into the alley after him, "You'd better have a good reason for not talking to me..." She noticed the two figures at either side of him, covered in shadow even within the shadows of the alley. "What's going on?"

"Hmm. Perhaps you were right, Ogori," Saerali sighed, in a voice unfamiliar to Kasi.

"She's seen too much," Ogori hissed.

"Dispose of her," Baako ordered.

The man Kasi thought was Pende drew his Zard. "Right," he said. A black wind began to blow, whipping Kasi's blue cape right off of her back.

Kasi drew her Thorns, ready to defend herself. But nothing could have prepared her for the next move. Without any warning, the shadows on the walls and floor wavered slightly. Then, as if they were alive, they spread through the alley, growing thicker and darker with each passing moment. Kasi couldn't believe her eyes, and soon even her eyes were useless against the growing darkness. "Wh-what's going on?" Kasi repeated, praying for some logical explanation.

A piercing scream echoed through the alley for a split second, before it was quickly silenced.

* * *

I'm approaching the end of the stuff that I have had written from before. Soon I'll be operating on my own steam, baby! I wonder how that will turn out.

I still need more ideas for names for the other group, the evil group. Please, please, if you read the story, please give me some idea. Message me or review the story, it doesn't matter at this point.

Signing off,

Resda


	37. Uncertainty

**Uncertainty**

_Knock, knock._ Cloto looked up from her novel. For a moment, she debated asking someone else to get it, but soon realized that that was an argument waiting to happen. She got up off of her recliner and headed for the hallway. "Hey, you two, that must be the champions coming back," she called out to her sisters. She peered through the peephole, confirming her suspicions. "Resda looks pretty beat up," she added, before opening the door and letting them in.

"I'll grab a potion," Lakelis said, getting up off of the leather couch and walking towards the medicine cabinet in the restroom.

"Don't bother with that nasty artificial stuff," Nella scolded her, as she walked to the kitchen. "I'll bet they want some real food."

"Do they now," Lakelis muttered quietly. The echo carried Lakelis's voice all the way to Nella's ears.

"Yes, they do," Nella glared at her sister.

"Well if you want to waste their time when they obviously have other places to go, then fine!" Lakelis called after her.

"They're young boys and girls, they'll appreciate a quick snack," Nella argued.

Cloto and the others were just out of earshot, and could not make out the conversation, but Cloto groaned just the same. "Gods, not again," she sighed, leading the five back into the living room. The buzzing of the two voices got clearer and louder the closer they got to the sitting area. Immediately upon entering, Resda and Omega smirked at each other and raced for the couch, arguably the single most comfortable space in the entire suite. The others were content to stand and listen for a moment before sitting down.

"What are they arguing about?" Judith asked.

"Probably nothing important," Cloto replied. "They get like this around, you know, _that_ time of the month." Kai and Judith nodded knowingly, while Twilight cleared his throat and pretended not to hear.

The five of them quickly settled in. For a moment, a titter of laughter started when Judith plopped down on the couch next to Resda, but two steely glares silenced that notion quickly.

Simultaneously, Lakelis brought out a potion bottle and some bandages and Cloto came out of the kitchen with some hastily prepared sandwiches. Both were accepted with gratitude, and everyone sat down peacefully. Resda reached for the potion and drank it, sighing contentedly as the soothing liquid closed his wounds and healed his body. Lakelis winked at Nella, who stuck out her tongue.

"So, how was the duel?" Cloto asked.

"You won, of course," Lakelis chuckled to herself. _I mean, of course the champion would win,_ she figured, _that much is obv-_

"Actually, I surrendered," Resda explained, without missing a beat.

"What?" Nella asked, surprised. "But why?"

Resda smiled wearily. "It's a long story."

One long story later, Kai stood up to stretch. "So, guys, should we get going?"

"I'm for it," Omega answered. "The sooner we get to Sleepywood, the better."

"The fastest way would be to go through the marsh," Twilight calculated. "It's an almost straight shot to Sleepywood from there."

Judith sighed, disappointed. "Well, I can at least see you off, Resda," Resda nodded in agreement. "And write me once in a while, okay?" she added.

"What are you guys talking about?" Twilight asked. Everyone else in the room looked just as confused as he was.

Resda explained. "She's heading back to Henesys," he said. "We figured that it would be best if we went our separate ways, for the time being."

"I half-expected her to tag along," said Cloto. "But it's your lives."

"Thanks for letting us stay here so long," Kai smiled.

"Oh, it was no problem, really," Lakelis replied politely.

"Give us a ring the next time you're in Kerning," Nella added.

A few minutes later, the five made their way out the door, after a last minute check of everyone's belongings. They then headed down the elevator and out the door, into the waiting streets of Kerning. "The marsh entrance is this way," Twilight said, taking the lead. To everyone's relief, the sidewalks were practically empty, so there was no need to rush. They walked down the street, hearing the occasional sounds of construction and feeling the wind as a car rushed by.

* * *

There was a benefit to taking the lead, it seems. By walking in front, it is easy to think to yourself without people nagging you or asking what's wrong. You have the time to let your mind wander. And Twilight really needed that time after an ordeal like his. _These last few days have been very… _interesting, he decided, settling on the word when nothing else seemed to fit. _I saved a man from almost certain death, and then nearly killed my own teammate… _He paused for a moment to mull that last bit over, before continuing. _…I pushed myself to the limit fighting Gheren, and still would have failed had it not been for the others. And let's not forget Dark Lord, _he added, a bad taste forming in his mouth. The feeling passed after a moment. 

_I still haven't gotten the answers I want,_ he concluded._ What am I supposed to do with myself? If there is such a thing as destiny, is this it for me? Is this the defining experience of my entire life? What will happen once it's all over? How do you go back to regular life after something like that? _The thought unnerved him somewhat, so he looked to the alternative._ If it turns out that destiny doesn't exist, why are we doing what we're doing? What drives us forward? And will we like the outcome? _His thoughts were a hopeless jumble, and any attempts to make sense of it resulted in nothing more than wasted energy. He humphed to himself.

_Do the others know the answer? Omega? Resda? Kai?_ Twilight paused a moment, as he tended to do nowadays, whenever he happened to think about Kai. As usual, his mind was quick to associate her with Manji's poisoning.

_Kai… my friend or my enemy. What do I make of you? _He sighed, eyes turning skyward. _The gods never seem to be around when you need them,_ he thought, smirking. _I guess time will tell. She'll get the benefit of the doubt… for now._

In that instant, Kai finally decided to catch up with Twilight, tired of hesitating. The fire mage quickened her pace to match his. "Hey," she said, nonchalantly.

"Hey," Twilight answered back. He kept his eyes forward, avoiding eye contact.

Kai was silent for a while, before she spoke again. "You know, I haven't thanked you."

Twilight continued to face forward, but she had his attention. "For what?"

"Even after all that's happened you're still helping me. I really appreciate it," she added.

"Well, I have as much to gain from this as you," Twilight explained. "Besides," he added, turning to face her, "we're teammates. We'd better stick together, you know?"

Kai smirked. "Some lone wolf you turn out to be."

"Don't blame me," Twilight joked back, "you said it first."

Kai and Twilight continued their conversation as they walked. Kai spoke freely and energetically, while Twilight was content to listen and respond every once in a while, the corners of his mouth upturned in an almost imperceptible smile. _Yeah. Time will tell._

* * *

Judith and Resda were engrossed in each other's company, talking about days gone by or whatever just happened to cross their minds. This left Omega, once again, to his own devices. _I am the champion, _he thought to himself, _Perion's representative in the ancient prophecies. But the word is simply a title. What makes me the champion? _Without anyone else to interrupt, Omega's mind was free to travel backwards in time, back to the fateful day Sitting Bull called him into his chambers. 

"_Sir?" Omega asked. Sitting Bull's room was, as usual, filled with the pungent odor of incense. But the smoke did nothing to calm his nerves this time around. "You wanted to see me?"_

"_Omega." Sitting Bull looked up from his meditative pose on the floor, and smiled warmly. He brought himself up to his full height – an imposing figure well above six feet. "It is good to see you, my student. Please, sit a moment." He walked to a shelf on the far wall, retrieving a long, thin package from it. "How is your training?"_

_Omega sat cross-legged on the floor. "Fine, sir. I should be ready to take the test for the second job within the month." Omega beamed._

"_Don't rush yourself, Omega." He joined Omega on the floor. "There is… another matter which takes precedence." He placed the package on the floor before him. It was poorly wrapped and bound with simple twine, leaving no mystery as to what it was._

_Omega immediately noticed the gleaming golden tip on one end, exposed to plain view._

_Sitting Bull, however, had his eyes trained on Omega. A very solemn expression was on his face, a contrast to his usually sunny disposition. He spoke plainly. _

"_What I'm about to tell you is very important."_

Omega frowned, as he retrieved the golden spear from his back, examining it carefully. _He gave me the Glorious. As the champion, I am its keeper, and it in turn is a manifestation of my destiny. But does the weapon make the man? Sitting Bull wouldn't think so._ Already doubts were filling his head.

His mind wandered again, returning, as it usually did nowadays, to his own unfortunate loss. The swordsman, as Omega had begun to call him, filled his thoughts. _That man... he showed me my own weakness. _His stomach began to ache, mimicking the pain the swordsman had inflicted with his last strike. _I was not able to summon the strength that I am supposed to possess._

Omega's mind wandered back to Resda's duel. Specifically, Hawk's reason for fighting came to the forefront.

_The champion must be strong,_ he recited in his head, looking down at his hands. _But my strength has failed me many times. What do I do? How can I convince the world that I am the champion? How can I convince myself? _His final decision was absolute. _I must become stronger. It is all I can do._

"Hey, Omega?" Resda tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to face him. "You cool?"

"Yeah," Omega replied. Resda's comment had shaken him out of his existential crisis. "Just have a lot on my mind."

"Can we help?" Judith asked. Omega couldn't help but admire how much the pair of archers was in tune with each other.

He waved a hand. "This is my problem. I'll tell you what's going on soon. Just not now."

"Fair enough," said Resda. He moved to change the subject. "So… Sleepywood. Haven't been there in a while."

"Me either," Omega replied. "It's a little too far off the beaten path for my tastes."

Judith sounded disappointed. "But think of the adventure! Sleepywood is where civilization began in Victoria. The ruins there are awe-inspiring."

"It's just not my thing," Omega shrugged.

"Oh well," Resda said. "To each his own, I guess."

"What are you going to do when you get back to Henesys?" Omega asked the girl.

She shrugged. "Probably get back to training," she replied. "I want to become the greatest bow master in Victoria."

"A humble goal," Resda added sarcastically.

"We can't all be champions," Judith teased back. Omega joined the two archers in laughter.

"There's the entrance, up ahead," Twilight called back to the three lagging behind. He turned around to get their attention. "There's nothing to stand in our way now."

"Except a barricade, yellow caution tape, and a guy in a hard hat," Kai added, looking ahead.

"What?" Twilight and the others ran forward to get a view. Indeed, a man in a hard hat was wrapping yellow tape across the gate framing the entrance, while three wooden barricades stood to block the entrance, amber lights flashing. Twilight walked up to the man with an incredulous look on his face. "What is all this?"

"Sorry, kid," the man said, in a brusque Boston accent. "We're closin' up the marsh. Gonna do some groundwork in there. Big construction project."

"Construction? Constructing what?" Omega asked, honestly curious.

"None of your business. Now get outta here," the man said, waving them off.

"Bullshit," Twilight muttered once out of earshot. "They haven't built anything new around here for years."

"Then what would they be doing?" Resda said. "That guy looked pretty convincing."

"Heck if I know," answered the thief.

"Perhaps we're forgetting the task at hand," Kai said. "We have to get to Sleepywood." She unrolled her map and held it for everyone else to see.

Twilight pointed to Perion on the map. "We could head back north," he suggested, "then descend the mountain on the south side to get to the jungle zone."

"The path through Henesys is shorter," Omega pointed out. "And with Lith Harbor on the way the journey should be easier on our supplies."

"That takes us through the L Forest," Twilight countered. "It'll be hell trying to navigate through. Going back to Perion will save us the hassle."

"The L Forest won't be so bad," Judith interrupted. "I know it like the back of my hand."

"That derails my argument," Twilight replied. "Resda? You're in favor of going south, I'd assume."

Resda thought a moment. "Well, I haven't been back in Henesys since this whole thing started. And I'm running low on arrows… maybe Vicious can craft me some."

"You sure you don't have another reason?" Kai asked, suspiciously. A sigh and a roll of eyes quickly ended that train of thought.

"That's three against one," Twilight said. "Let's go, then." With that, they were off.

Soon the five were beyond the gates of Kerning. Before them lay the L Forest – a stark contrast to the city they left behind. Judith immediately took the lead, preparing herself to guide the group through the forest. "Are you guys ready?"

"Any time," Resda replied.

* * *

"Come on, people! I want this ship in working order _yesterday!_" Jack barked orders at his workers through a megaphone as Deianira, Ozeku, and Isrim watched. The sounds of furious hammering, sawing, welding, and all other manner of noises filled the air. 

"I had my doubts earlier," Ozeku began, "but the ship looks to be in fine condition now."

"I'm impressed that they repaired that broken engine," Deianira said. "It looked like it was ready to fall off."

Jack joined the trio after barking a few more orders to his subordinates. "Everything's ahead of schedule," he announced. "We can have the ship in the air in a few hours."

"That's great," Isrim said. As Jack left, Isrim suddenly had a brilliant idea, and ran after him. "You know, there is one matter left to discuss." Ozeku chuckled softly, and Deianira heaved a big sigh, muttering curses under her breath.

"I know where this is going," Jack said sadly. "How much is this going to set me back?"

"Well, it's not really money we're after," Isrim started, his voice dripping with oil. "You know, if all goes well, you'll get your entire _fleet_ back from wherever it went, and you were planning to scrap this ship before you had it recommissioned for today's flight, so…" He trailed off, expecting Jack to fill in the rest.

Jack's eyes widened. "No. There is no way that I am going to just _give_ away a fully functional airship! I can't do that!"

"You can, and you will," Isrim countered, "unless you want to go out there yourself."

Deianira smirked, approving of Isrim's rash action. "You _do_ want our help, right?"

"Vultures, the lot of you," Jack spit.

"Fine," Deianira sighed. "Boys, let's go." She stepped off of the platform and headed for the front gate, Ozeku and Isrim in pursuit.

Not five seconds later, Jack relented. "Alright! Damn, you drive one hell of a bargain."

The deal was struck, and a few hours later, the trio was in the sky. A large crew milled about the ship as it sailed through the clouds. Deianira was busy talking to the captain while Ozeku and Isrim were belowdecks, awaiting her return.

"Where to, lass?" the captain asked her. He was good at hiding his distrust of these three newcomers, who came completely out of the blue yet claimed to know exactly what was going on.

"Just take your normal route. I'm willing to bet that whatever it is out there, it'll find us before long." Deianira bowed politely and excused herself to the cabin, as the captain bit his lip.

Upon Deianira's return, Ozeku asked the basic question. "Is everything all right?"

"The captain is flying the usual route," Deianira answered. "We'll get where we need to go sooner or later."

"So, all that's left to do is wait, eh?" Isrim said, grinning. He reached into his bag, pulling out a deck of cards. "You guys up for a game or two?"

"Why not?" Deianira said, clearing a table. Ozeku sat down to Deianira's right, and Isrim took the last chair.

He prepared to shuffle the deck, when Ozeku reached out and grabbed his arm, wrenching the deck from his hand. He counted the cards carefully, then shook down Isrim's gi until he was satisfied. "I'll deal," Ozeku announced, as he passed out the cards.

"Paranoid, are we?" Isrim said, amused.

"I know you," Ozeku replied.

"You also know that there are no extra cards for me to hide," Isrim shot back. "This is the only deck of its kind in Victoria." He felt the face of each card, feeling for the raised numbers and symbols. "Hmm, an interesting hand," he muttered to himself as he rearranged the cards. "Go ahead and start, Ozeku."

He laid down three cards in front of him. "Six, seven, eight of spades," he recited, saving Isrim the trouble of reading them. "And I'm discarding a king of hearts."

"Just what I needed," Isrim said, taking the card and putting down two kings of his own, forming a set of three. "Here's a queen for you, Deianira," he added, discarding the card.

Another quick glance at her cards told Deianira that the card wouldn't be any use to her. "No thanks." She drew a card from the deck, frowned, and discarded a ten.

The game continued in relative silence for a few rounds, with only the occasional cries of victory or anguish when someone managed to win.

"So," Isrim suddenly said, as he drew a card. "I've been thinking."

"Oh dear," Deianira groaned, "this could spell trouble."

Isrim shot a glare at her before continuing. "We've been around for eons now, trying to establish the Master's will in the cosmos. Unsuccessfully, I might add." He discarded a card from his hand, which Deianira snatched up.

"What are you getting at?" Deianira's eyes narrowed. She put down her hand, watching Isrim carefully.

"It's simple, really… _why?_" Isrim shrugged his shoulders. "What exactly is stopping us from just living out our lives doing whatever we want?"

Deianira bolt upright, almost knocking over the table. She stamped over to Isrim, looking him dead in the eyes. Isrim couldn't see her face, but he didn't have to see it to know that she meant business.

"_Loyalty,_" she snarled. "_Dedication. Respect. _Qualities I think you _lack_, Isrim." She pulled him up by his gi. "How dare you even think to question the Master's plan? His rule will keep this universe _alive._ We are _saving_ this world."

"Look, I…" Isrim started. Deianira pushed him to the floor. "Does the world really need saving? It seems to be working fine without our help."

"If you dare to think about abandoning the Master when he needs us the most…" Deianira hissed.

Isrim cut her off. "When did I say I was leaving?" He stood up. "I never said I would abandon him. _I would die for the cause._" He sighed. "I apologize. It wasn't right of me to say what I did."

Deianira's cold stare gave way to a disappointed glance. "Of course," she admitted. "I'm sorry. You are just as loyal as the rest of us." She walked towards him, slowly, taking his hand. "This mission has taken a toll on us all. But we will succeed. It is destiny. I need you to believe that."

Isrim smirked. "Yeah. You're right."

Meanwhile, at the table, Ozeku grumbled. He would have won this round. But the game was moot now. He tossed his cards onto the table in resignation.

Suddenly, the boat rocked uncontrollably, sending everyone tumbling to the floor. Deianira quickly regained her equilibrium and dashed topside, only to see the entire crew in a panic. Within moments, she caught a glimpse of the entity that had caused the ship to fall into complete disorder. A black nebula hovered in the air, occasionally giving off flashes of purple lightning. The ship drew closer to it with each passing second, unresponsive to anything the captain or crew tried to do.

"Full reverse!" the captain yelled. "I want as much distance from that thing as we can muster!" The crew followed his orders, rushing about the ship to ready it for a complete 180.

"That's our target," she thought aloud. "Belay that order!" she yelled at the captain, "We need to fly closer to that thing if we stand any chance of destroying it!"

"Like I'd let you lead this crew to its demise! Turn the ship around!" The captain yelled again.

Ozeku and Isrim, meanwhile, had arrived on the deck and found Deianira with the captain. Ozeku saw the cloud immediately. He drew his blade, expecting the worst.

Isrim shivered. "I can feel the chaos irradiating from it," he breathed as his entire body tensed up. "This is much worse than I had expected."

The ship had not strayed a degree off its present course. The captain was a wreck. "You worthless lot! Why haven't we turned around?" he yelled.

"Sir, the rudder's been disabled!" a crewman reported, yelling over the clamor. "We can't turn the ship!"

His gaze fell on the trio. "This is your doing, isn't it?" he growled,

"I'm glad you trust us so highly," Isrim jeered. "There's a magical force pulling us in. We couldn't get away if we wanted to." He smirked as the captain threw his hat to the floor in frustration.

"So what then?" the captain grumbled, defeated.

"We wait," Deianira said. "When we get closer we'll understand what happened."

"At our current speed," Ozeku estimated, "we should reach the cloud within a few minutes."

"Then we have a moment to prepare," Isrim decided. "But no idea what to prepare _for_."

"…There is something," the captain sighed. He reached into a drawer, finding a scroll. He opened it and read the inscription. "This is the last transmission from one of the missing ships. Hopefully this will shed some light on things." They gathered around the scroll, ready to glean its secrets, as their destination loomed ominously ahead.

* * *

Man this chapter was such a mind trip for me. 

This is by far the longest chapter in the story, at about three to four times the length of other chapters. It also happens to be the one which, in my humble opinion, advances the plot the _least_. Kinda funny how that works out.

I'm playing a bit with character development, as it were. I've had the basic action of the chapter written for quite a while now. But what kept me from putting it up earlier was my decision to expand on the characters. Though fleshing out the main characters is far from a bad thing, I can't help but be extremely critical of my own work. As a result, every day for the last few weeks, I've spent a few hours on this, only to get nowhere and usually fall asleep doing it. (I do all my work late at night, it's when I'm at my most creative.) After my last major edit this week, I realized that I can't just continue to work on this chapter for the rest of my life, so I put it on the site.

Where I worked on it some more.

Even now, the introspection and self-criticism feels forced to me. But I doubt any amount of work that I do will fix that problem.

And that's the mind trip story for you.

For the record, Deianira, Ozeku, and Isrim are playing Tong-Its, a popular card game in the Philippines. Being of that descent myself, it's only natural that I am quite familiar with the game. (Being good at it, sadly, is another story.) I don't know/can't pronounce a lot of the terms that they use in game, so I kinda fudged it a little for the sake of the audience.

Please, please review. If you haven't before, at least review now. I need to know what you guys think of this chapter, so I know what to change and what to keep.

Thanks for reading!

- Resda


	38. Seeds of Distrust

**Seeds of Distrust**

As the airship drew ever closer to the cloud, the crew was already making preparations. Sailors drew up crates filled with a veritable arsenal of weaponry, and the more able-bodied crewmen began sharpening their blades, spears, and arrowheads. Noises of preparation filled the air, but despite the volume they did not pass through the walls of the sealed captain's cabin.

In the cabin, the captain sighed to himself as Deianira and Ozeku looked on. The roll of parchment in his hand seemed to weigh much more than it should have. And with good reason – the scroll contained a video recording, a copy of the last transmission of a ship that had been caught in the cloud. After much internal struggle he gave in, and his mouth formed the words to activate the scroll.

Isrim, unable to watch the video, simply sat in the cabin, collecting his own thoughts and feeling generally useless. But just as the captain was about to begin, he was struck with a thought. "Wait a minute… Jack told us that he has no idea why the ships are vanishing. Now you're telling us that you have a _recording_ from one of the missing ships." He stood up dramatically, pointing an accusing finger in his direction. "Where did it come from? Is there something you're hiding, Captain…" His hand dropped. "…your name… somehow it eludes me…"

Ozeku humphed. "We never asked for it."

Isrim settled down again, slumping into his seat. "That kinda ruined the moment." He sighed as the others rolled their eyes at him.

"Okay," the captain groaned, putting a hand to his forehead in embarrassment. "Call me Alessio." He returned to the scroll, unrolling the delicate magical item as carefully as he could. "This transmission is a private ship-to-ship record," he said, "and I have chosen not to disclose it to my superiors, for reasons I'd rather not discuss."

"Fine," Deianira interrupted, "but we should get back to the important matter here."

"Of course," Captain Alessio replied, muttering an enchantment under his breath. At once the scroll began to glow an ethereal blue. An image soon formed on the blank scroll, a portrait of a smiling young man, probably in his twenties. Nestled in his blonde hair was a three-pointed cap, the mark of a ship's captain.

"This is Captain Villar of the _Honor Queen_, contacting the _Cross_," the recording started. Captain Villar's face was one of calm control, and the sky was a clear blue. In the background it was easy to see the effects of the wind as fabric danced and the sails billowed out. Despite all the wind, however, the ship was, inexplicably, moving in a different direction, against the breeze.

Villar continued his transmission. "At present, we have a visual on a strange looking cloud a few minutes ahead of us. It's a little odd, considering how clear the sky is otherwise. We'd avoid it, but unfortunately there's a minor problem with our rudder and we have no choice but to sail on through it. We'll be sure to report on what we find. In the meantime, I suggest you take a wide course, away from the usual route."

"This is Captain Alessio of the _Cross_," another voice replied. On the scroll, the image of Captain Villar remained visible, as he listened intently to Alessio's voice. "We're changing course now. Need any help with your rudder before we go?"

Villar smirked. "Don't worry about it, I've got my best technicians on it." Before ending the transmission, Villar had one last thing to add: "Oh, and don't think you're beating me to Orbis, either. I'm still gonna get there before you do, and collect on our little bet."

"You wish," Alessio's voice replied. The transmission cut off at that point.

Isrim was deep in thought. "So, their ship was in the same situation as ours, though they were not aware of any problems."

"But we still do not know what happened when they got inside." Deianira shut her eyes put her hands to her temples, trying to figure out something she hadn't noticed.

Fortunately, Deianira didn't have to think for long. "The recording isn't over," Alessio responded. "There's… one last bit." He played back the last scene on the scroll with a shamed look on his face.

Captain Villar was once again on screen, but the scene was a stark contrast to the peace and tranquility of earlier. Blue skies were replaced with a swirling, purple fog against a black background, and the sounds of battle could be heard. Villar himself was also vastly different. His eyes were wide with fear as he yelled into the scroll. "Somebody, please!" he screamed.

"Villar! What's happening?" Alessio's recorded voice replied, showing concern for his distressed friend.

"Please, kill me now!"

And there, the recording stopped.

Captain Alessio slumped into his chair. "That's it." He stared out the window, into the still blue sky, past the others.

"What happened afterwards?" Deianira asked tactfully.

"I immediately rushed to help him, but got caught in the pull of the cloud," Alessio answered. "Fortunately, we managed to escape that time, by overloading the left engine and steering away. Of course, with one engine destroyed, I had no choice but to return to Ludibrium.

"You can see why I didn't want to reveal this scroll," he said, partly to himself. "It's a man at his end, at the edge of madness. He was a fine young man, and it would be a shame to reveal how far gone he was."

"I understand," Ozeku said. "You try to preserve his honor. You have my respect."

"Whether or not he did the right thing isn't the point right now," Deianira said. "What exactly was the crew fighting?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know," Alessio answered truthfully. "As far as I can guess, there's a monster that's attacking the ships as they pass into the cloud."

"The cloud is perhaps a cover, to keep it hidden," Ozeku analyzed. "Whatever is attacking the ships must be fearsome indeed."

"Then our only recourse is to prepare the crew for battle," Isrim suggested. "Arm everyone that can fight, and have them in battle positions as soon as we enter that cloud."

"Of course," Alessio replied, walking out, followed by the trio of warriors. They exited the cabin to see the crew almost completely armed, the cloud only seconds away. "Good work, men," he started. "Get everyone out of their quarters and ready to fight. And hand me my sword."

Alessio's first mate approached, a sword in his hand. "Captain," he addressed him.

"Excellent," Alessio complimented him, extending a hand. "Give it to me."

The first mate's eyes narrowed, as he pointed the blade at Alessio's throat. "No."

* * *

The L Forest was extremely thick with foliage this time of year, as the champions soon were aware. The air filled with the rustle of fallen leaves and the scents of moss and earth as they went deeper and deeper into the forest. Judith was forging ahead, knowing the path perfectly, and it was all the champions could do to keep her pace. 

"Hey," Resda said, out of the blue, "how far can someone walk into a forest?"

"Halfway," Kai answered, disappointed. "You told that one back in Ellinia."

Resda grumbled. "Well, the other guys hadn't heard it before." Kai rolled her eyes and teleported a few feet in front of her, trying to catch up to Judith. Resda sought the others for support. "It was a good one, right?"

"I'm going to avoid further conflict by remaining silent on the matter," Twilight replied. Omega just shrugged, looking innocent.

"Fine," Resda said, trudging forward, Twilight and Omega only slightly behind.

"So, you met Kai in Ellinia?" Omega asked, half-curious, half looking for another subject. They hadn't traveled long, but it was obvious that none of the champions were good at conversation when there wasn't a story to tell.

"More like on the way," Resda started. "I found her in a tree dungeon, unconscious. I had to take one of her scrolls to save us from being overrun."

"Really?" Twilight asked, his interest piqued. "Go on."

"Well," Resda started, "from what she told me, I found her just after she was attacked by the thief that she mistook for you, Twilight. She had fallen unconscious when she was knocked off of a platform at the top of the tree. When I saw her, she was pretty bruised up, and had a deep wound in her side. Hines confirmed her injuries later when we arrived in Ellinia, as well as told me about her missing staff."

At this Twilight seemed to become even more interested. "So you never actually saw her attacked?" he asked Resda, suspiciously.

"Well, no," he said slowly, not quite picking up on Twilight's motives. "But I heard her fall. And you can't ignore wounds like the ones I saw." Resda's mind clicked. "You still don't think…"

"I'm leaving nothing to chance," Twilight replied, before Resda could protest. "As far as I know, she attacked my best friend, and if I can prove it, she will face the consequences."

"But you _can't_ prove it," Omega argued, trying to be the voice of reason. "And she's the champion from Ellinia. Does it really make sense to act this way?"

"Actions like this do not go unanswered," Twilight answered darkly. "Not from us."

The words had a familiar ring to them in Resda's ears. When he made the connection, he grabbed Twilight's wrist. "You sent Akio."

"He found her, then?" Twilight seemed not to react to Resda's tone. "Congratulations on defeating him."

"He tried to _kill_ us," Resda continued. His voice remained even, yet all present could detect a hint of anger.

"Funny," Twilight commented. "I wanted him to _capture_ her, not kill her." He shrugged. "Akio tends to be a little dramatic at times."

"Listen to you!" Resda yelled. "He was ready to murder us, just because you thought she had hurt your friend! And he might have succeeded if the circumstances were different! How can you live with yourself?"

Twilight stopped. He wanted to tear off one of Resda's limbs after that kind of comment. But rather than let his emotions run haywire, he spoke instead. "I don't know."

A moment of silence passed between them before Twilight turned around. The sound of his footsteps through the leaves slowly faded as he walked down the path, ahead of them.

Resda put a hand to his head. "Gods… what did I just do?" he moaned.

"Don't worry," Omega reassured him. "Things will work out the way they should. Such is life."

"That doesn't help me feel better about it," Resda said. "The last thing I wanted to do was make things _worse_ between the two of them."

"I sense truth in both of their stories," Omega commented. "It _will_ work out. And they'll be better for it."

Resda was unconvinced. "What about-"

"Kai'll be fine." He put a hand on Resda's shoulder. "Twilight won't do anything yet. You had an effect on him, whether or not he wants to admit it."

"…Thanks," Resda said. He looked ahead, noticing that the others were very far ahead. "We'd better hurry up. I can't find my way around this place for all of the meso in the world." They ran to catch up, and the team – more or less intact – continued towards its next destination.

* * *

Took me long enough to finish this chapter, eh?

Once again, the thing that delayed me was my own self-criticism. Things always seem better in your head, you know? This chapter has been ready for a long time. But then I went on vacation for two weeks, only returning a few days ago. And then I found a pretty sizable plot hole, so I had to patch that up real quick.

Yeah. Life. Heh.

Explanation of a few things:

**The Transmission Scroll** - A magical item used among the airship service, each ship captain has one on hand at all times. It allows two captains to communicate with each other over long distances, which is especially useful when encountering obstacles or resistance when in transit. To use it, one must say the correct enchantment, noting the intended recipient. To stop transmission, one must say it again. Each conversation is automatically recorded; a different set of magic words is used for playback. Scrolls like these can be recorded over, but since they are relatively inexpensive to create, it is often more prudent to simply keep used scrolls for archiving purposes.

**Airship Propulsion** - Each ship is outfitted with two engines, one each on the port and starboard sides. These engines are mainly used for takeoff and evasive maneuvers, as they provide short bursts of speed. Normal travel is handled "the old fashioned way," that is, with sails and a rudder.

Well, that's it. Here's hoping I don't take this long next time! Thanks for reading! And please, please comment.

- Resda


End file.
